Densetsu no Kagami
by Kaeru Soyokaze
Summary: No one ever said being a Mirror Holder was easy...but being stuck with a bunch of males, youkai and human alike? EEP! IT'S DONE! REVIEW!!
1. Satsukiame

Ah-hem. All right, then. This is my newest YYH story, so be nice. Actually, I'm rather proud of it. And you, the reader, get to help me out! Yay! You can give me ideas, or comments, or even suggest who it is that our heroine ends up with-but that's for later. For now, let's begin, shall we?  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
It all started with Yusuke. In fact, the whole adventure began because Yusuke Urameshi was being his usual perverted self.  
  
It was an unusual day. For starters, Yusuke was at school. Also, it'd been a week and he and the other Tantei hadn't received any missions from the sniveling, whiny stuck-up child ruler Koenma.  
  
As Yusuke entered the schoolyard, he saw a flash of brown hair. There was Keiko, talking to her friends. Her back was turned, so she hadn't seen him yet.  
  
Yusuke grinned. *Shall I peek under her skirt or go for an above approach today? Hmmm...* He sneaked closer. So far, so good. *The Hunter moves in close to his unsuspecting prey...* With a leap, he was directly behind his target and wrapped his arms around her to cup her breasts. "Hmm, what have we here...?"  
  
"Yusuke! What are you DOING?!"  
  
The Tantei turned. There, behind him, was Keiko. *Behind me? Then who...?* He turned back slowly...in time to receive a slap so hard that it knocked him on his backside and he saw double for a moment. "Itai..." he muttered, rubbing his cheek. He glanced up at the girl he'd mistaken for Keiko. There were a few differences. This girl's hair was longer and gathered into a high ponytail, the tip of it just reaching her shoulders, with two strands of hair hanging on either side of her face. She was an inch or two taller, but still shorter than Yusuke. But there were also several similarities. Her eyes and hair were brown like Keiko's, only a little bit darker. She wore the same angry glare that Keiko often turned on Yusuke...and her slap was just as painful!  
  
"You didn't tell me you had a twin, Keiko..." Yusuke groaned as he stood up slowly, watching the girl stalk away.  
  
"I don't," his childhood friend replied. "That's Satsukiame Aori. She just transferred here." She snorted. "Some welcome you show her."  
  
Yusuke grinned sheepishly. "She hits just as hard as you do." He'd forgotten that Keiko had gotten her hair cut...otherwise he might've gotten the right person.  
  
The bell rang and Keiko scurried to class, with Yusuke trailing behind.  
  
"Where've ya been, Urameshi?" Kazuma Kuwabara whispered, as Yusuke slid into his seat.  
  
"Girl problems," Yusuke whispered back.  
  
"We have a new student today from Azabu," Takenaka-sensei called over the din of the class. There was a sudden hush as the classroom door slid open and in stepped...the girl. Satsukiame Aori.  
  
"Now..." he glanced at the girl. "Kia?" She nodded. "Kia has only been in Japan for four years," Takenaka told the class. "So I expect you to be considerate." He smiled. "Take a seat, Miss Aori."  
  
Kia headed to a seat close to Keiko. She paused when she saw Yusuke, and he knew she had recognized him. *I'm so dead...*  
  
Surprisingly, the girl smiled. "What you have here," she said very quietly, "Is what every woman has two of...I hope." With that, she sat down and opened her book.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
"Hmmm..." Kuwabara rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I have this feeling...about the new girl."  
  
"New love interest?" Kurama asked amusedly, flipping his long red hair over his shoulders.  
  
Hiei snorted.  
  
The Tantei were at Yusuke's house, awaiting a new mission...or something.  
  
"You know Yukina-san is my only love," Kuwabara declared. Hiei's yell of outrage was muffled by Yusuke's hand. "But, seriously guys, Kia's radiating a lot of fear and pain. And...she holds some sort of secret..."  
  
Kurama frowned. Kia...that name sounded very familiar...  
  
"You're absolutely right, Kuwabara-kun!" A cheerful voice cried. A blue-haired girl with her hair in a high ponytail sat on Yusuke's bed-which had been unoccupied only seconds ago.  
  
Hiei groaned. "And here's Cheery Death herself."  
  
"Of course I'm right, Botan-chan!" Kuwabara boasted. "Errr...why am I right?"  
  
"Baka ningen." Hiei growled. Kurama smiled and rolled his eyes.  
  
"Kia. Satsukiame Aori. She DOES hold a secret. A mirror, of sorts."  
  
Yusuke blinked. "What the hell are you talking about, Botan?"  
  
The ferrygirl shrugged. "Gomen, Yusuke...I can't tell you any more than that. But here's your next mission: Get close to Kia. She's in terrible danger and she'll be a valuable asset to all of you. Yes, even you, Hiei," she added to the Jaganshi. "Once you've earned her trust, I can tell you a little bit more." She disappeared.  
  
"Kuso! I hate it when she does that," Yusuke griped. "Shimatta!"  
  
"Oh, and I'll be recruiting some others to help..." Botan's voice echoed in the room. "Have fun, boys!"  
  
Kurama sighed. "I suppose we shall have to undertake this mission."  
  
"Hey, no problem!" Kuwabara said loudly. "How hard could it possibly be to get close to her?" Famous last words.  
  
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"It's hopeless," Yusuke moaned to Kuwabara and Keiko. The three were on the school roof.  
  
It had been a week and they had found out absolutely nothing about their quiet target. Not where she lived, her family, not even her favorite color. She always managed to evade them.  
  
Hiei, following her after school one day, had abruptly lost her. He had sulked for the rest of the day.  
  
It was Kurama who finally broke through the invisible barrier Kia had erected around herself. On his way home from the store, something blue caught his eye. He turned and saw a girl in a Sarayashiki school uniform sitting on the curb, arms wrapped around her legs. One look convinced the Youko that this was the girl. Better verify it.  
  
"Kia?"  
  
The girl jumped and stared at him, mouth hanging slightly open. "How...how did you know my name?"  
  
Kurama smiled. "I'm a friend of Yusuke's. Is something wrong?" He added, suddenly noticing the deep sadness lurking in her expressive eyes.  
  
Kia glanced up at him. "I can't go back home yet."  
  
"Why not?" Kurama asked, blinking as she emphasized the word "home". "It's getting dark...it's not wise to stay out here at night."  
  
Her reply was a short laugh. "I'm safer here than I am at-" She broke off suddenly, her eyes fixing on something.  
  
Kurama followed her gaze and saw a group of high-school boys...obviously intoxicated, from the way they were acting.  
  
Kia shuddered. "They give me a place to stay," she murmured. "But when they're like this, it's best to avoid them."  
  
However, the boys caught sight of her and staggered over.  
  
"Hey, it's our girly!"  
  
"Ready to come back wit' us?"  
  
"We'll have LOTS of fun."  
  
The girl stiffened and rose, backing away. Instantly, a boy seized her hands and twisted her arms behind her, forcing her to her knees. "Ungrateful wench!" he snarled.  
  
"Release her."  
  
The boys and their captive stared at the slender redhead.  
  
"Ain't none of your business, pretty-boy," one said finally.  
  
"Really?" Kurama raised an eyebrow. "I think it is. Let her go."  
  
"Like HELL I'll -"  
  
A thorny whip appeared in Kurama's hand.  
  
"H-h-hey man, don't kill us!" Frightened, Kia's captor let go of her. She immediately ran to Kurama.  
  
"Go," he told her, without taking his eyes off his opponents.  
  
They all attacked at once. Kurama managed to take down most of them.   
  
Wearily, he stepped over the unconscious bodies and transformed his whip back into a rose.  
  
"Kurama, look out!"  
  
Startled, the Youko looked up just to get hit squarely in the skull with a large rock. He sagged to the ground.  
  
"Heh, heh..." The young man grinned at his success and pulled out a knife. "I've an urge to gut you like a-"  
  
WHOMP.  
  
This time, it was the boy who fell.   
  
  
  
Kia stood behind him, schoolbag still raised. She lowered it and walked over to Kurama. Kneeling, she examined his wounds. A few cuts and he'd probably have a bump on his head tomorrow. For a moment, she hesitated.  
  
"I owe him that much..."  
  
Slinging his left arm over her shoulders, she wrapped her right arm and his waist and began a slow walk towards Yusuke's house. She'd seen it a couple of times. Luckily, she didn't have to go that far.  
  
"KURAMA!"  
  
The yell made Kia stop and stare at the two approaching figures. Kuwabara and Yusuke.  
  
"Shimatta! What HAPPENED to him??" Kuwabara exclaimed, giving the girl a suspicious glance.  
  
"He saved me from a gang," Kia explained. "But he got knocked out..."  
  
"I'll be all right now," Kurama said softly, startling them all. "Arigatou, Kia-san."  
  
"No problem," the girl replied, steadying him. "I should be getting-" She stopped as realization struck. *If I go back now, I'm dead!*  
  
Kurama seemed to have read her mind. "You'll need a place to stay," he told her.  
  
"Huh?" Kuwabara blinked. "Why?"  
  
Kit bit her lip. "They offered me a place out of the rain...in return, I had to...entertain them."  
  
Kurama's green eyes narrowed. "They didn't-"  
  
"No, no!" Kia shook her head quickly. "I kept far away from them when they were in that sort of mood."  
  
"What about your parents?" Yusuke asked. "Why didn't you live with them?"  
  
Kia stiffened again. She turned and started to walk away. "I don't want to talk about it."  
  
"C'mon!" Yusuke grabbed her arm. "Kia..."  
  
"I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!" Kia pulled away and started to run.  
  
"Kia!" Yusuke shouted, running after her.  
  
Hiei suddenly appeared, blocking the girl's path.  
  
Kia took a step back. "Leave me alone," she whispered, her voice breaking. "Why won't you leave me alone?" She dropped to the ground, burying her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook and Yusuke realized she was crying.  
  
Keiko (probably alerted by all the noise) came running up. Upon seeing the weeping girl, she knelt and hugged her. "Oh, Kia..." She glared at Yusuke. "What did you do?"  
  
"Nothing!" The boy protested. "I just asked about her parents."  
  
"Baka," Hiei told him flatly.  
  
"Don't call me that! YOU blocked her!"  
  
"Ah, good, you're all here!"  
  
They looked up. "Your timing is perfect, Botan," Yusuke said sarcastically, gesturing to a battered Kurama, a confused Kuwabara, a sour-faced Hiei, and Keiko comforting Kia, who had managed to calm down...somewhat.  
  
Botan's sudden appearance on a floating oar did nothing to help at all.  
  
"Kia! Or..." The ferrygirl hesitated. "Satsukiasame..."  
  
The girl managed a tiny smile. "No one ever calls me that. Kia's easier to say."  
  
"I agree!" Botan grinned. "My name is Botan. These oafs were assigned to keep an eye on you, but apparently, they bungled it."  
  
Kia blinked. "Why?"  
  
"Because..." Botan sighed. "I can't tell you yet."  
  
"WHAAAT?!" Yusuke yelped. "Botan!"  
  
"Gomen!" Botan waved her hands frantically. "Soon, I promise. Just get her settled. Yusuke, she's staying with you for now."  
  
Both Kia and Yusuke opened their mouths to protest, but Botan had disappeared again.  
  
The detective grumbled under his breath for a moment. Then he looked at Kia. "Well? Shall we go home?"  
  
The girl's shoulders slumped in resignation. "Sure, why not?"  
  
"Cheer up, Kia," Kurama told her. "It's a lot safer than the gang hideout."  
  
Her smile was somewhat crooked. "Sure about that?" With a sigh, she hefted her schoolbag over her shoulder. "Lead the way, Yusuke."  
  
*I have a feeling that our lives are going to be considerably more interesting,* Kurama thought.  
  
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Hehe...wow, this is getting interesting. What Mirror is Botan talking about? REVIEW! *points to YOU* 


	2. The Cookie Incident

I'm baaack....hehe....well, how am I doing so far?  
  
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Five Days later...  
  
Kia stood in the kitchen, a too-large apron tied around her waist and neck. Yusuke was out with Keiko and Atsuko, his mother, was out drinking again. Determined not to be bored, Kia had decided to make cookies...her way of saying thank-you. So far she had greased the cookie sheet and was now mixing the batter. "It's so peaceful," she mused aloud, smiling. Once again, famous last words.  
  
Outside...  
  
"Ow! Stupid cat!" A voice howled in indignation.  
  
"Perhaps if you didn't bother the cat, Jin, it wouldn't attempt to scratch you," was the calm reply.  
  
The youthful redheaded youkai glowered at the diminutive Ice Shinobi. "It started it, Touya!"  
  
Touya sighed. "Look. There's Yusuke's house."  
  
Jin tested the door and discovered it was unlocked. "How nice of Urameshi to leave the house open," he remarked.  
  
"Shouldn't we knock...?"  
  
"Botan sent us! We have permission for stuff like this!" Jin pushed the door open and went in. Touya followed, shaking his head. "Urameshi!" Jin called out.  
  
Kia froze and dropped her spoon into the batter. Someone was in the house...someone she didn't know.  
  
"Urameshi! Where are youuu? We have business to settle, you know!"  
  
*Oh, great. Yusuke just HAD to tick someone off...someone with a grudge, obviously.*  
  
The footsteps grew closer. Then stopped. Kia released her breath in a silent sigh.  
  
"You're not Urameshi!" The voice came from behind her.  
  
Kia screamed, grabbed the nearest weapon (which happened to be the cookie sheet), and whirled, hitting the speaker with as much force as she could muster. He fell to the ground with a thud.  
  
Keeping a firm grip on the cookie sheet, Kia examined her prisoner. Red hair, muscled body, odd clothes, a small fang peeking out from his mouth, pointy ears, and a horn in the middle of his vivid hair.  
  
"No ordinary boy!" Kia murmured, kneeling cautiously.  
  
"You're quite right. He's a youkai, as am I. Before you turn, I have no intention of harming you. Botan sent us."  
  
The girl slowly turned. She looked into the slanted pale-blue pupil-less eyes of a short young man, also garbed in an unusual outfit...not to mention the blue hair and the green bangs. "Umm...who are you?"  
  
"My name is Touya," he informed her. "My rash friend is Jin," he added, pointing to the unconscious form sprawled on the floor. "And you must be Satsukiame."  
  
"Kia," she corrected automatically. She blinked. "Wait. You said Botan sent you?"  
  
The Ice youkai nodded. "Yes. To protect you." He glanced at Jin. "Although, if you are as skilled with your powers as you are with that cookie sheet, perhaps you don't need our help."  
  
Kia turned pink. "Oh, no..." She stared at Jin. "I really messed up..."  
  
"You did what any girl would do if someone sneaked up on her," Touya corrected gently.  
  
Jin groaned and sat up slowly. "Urameshi's punches got a lot harder..." He stared at Kia. "Unless that was you."  
  
She nodded. "I...I'm so sorry!"  
  
"It's all right," Jin assured her. "Touya always said my thick skull would come in handy one day."  
  
Kia still stared at the floor, swamped with guilty emotions.  
  
"Hey, come on lass..." Jin put two fingers under her chin and lifted it gently. Their eyes met.  
  
There was a startled pause.  
  
"Your eyes...are brown..." the youkai said at last.  
  
"And yours are blue," Kia replied, puzzled. She sighed and stood up, brushing her hands on her apron. "Please stay, you two. I'm making cookies."  
  
"Aye, I could tell, what with the cookie sheet-"  
  
Touya clapped a hand over his friend's mouth. "We would appreciate that," he told Kia, smiling.  
  
Jin nodded, still flustered. Those eyes...stirred something deep inside of him. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind.  
  
"Hey...are you all right?"  
  
Jin jumped up. "Fine! Fine, I'm fine!" he blurted out, aware that his face was turning the exact shade of his hair and that both Kia and Touya were looking at him curiously.  
  
Kia shrugged and went back to work. The cookies had just come out of the oven, when Yusuke walked in. He stopped when he saw Jin and Touya, each munching on a cookie.  
  
"Kuso! I forgot to tell Kia-"  
  
That your friends were coming over?" Kia turned to face him, carrying a plate of cookies. "Want one?" She added, offering him the plate.  
  
Yusuke grabbed three. "So, no problems?" he asked, his mouth full of cookie and chocolate chip.  
  
Touya smiled. "Well, it seems Kia mistook Jin for a gang member and smacked him with the cookie sheet."  
  
"All in good defense," Jin insisted with a straight face.  
  
Yusuke shook his head. "Should've warned you," he said cheerfully. "Don't sneak up on her."  
  
Jin grinned. "She made up for it with these cookies, though." He crammed another into his mouth.  
  
"Save some for the others," Kia told them, smiling. "Or I'll have to make more."  
  
"Nothing wrong with that," Yusuke told her.  
  
The girl rolled her eyes. "Boys."  
  
"Girls," Yusuke shot back. "Boy, am I glad there's only you and Keiko. I couldn't handle another one who hits like you two." (Need I say "famous last words?" Perhaps I'll make a list.)  
  
*OOC*  
  
Weeeell....I wonder what will happen next. As for you, my readers, you get a chance to tell me if Kia should end up with anybody and WHO! I'll try reading them with an open mind... 


	3. Shishiwakamaru Gets His Butt Kickedx2

Awwwww....*teary eyes* Thanks, all of you! I had no idea people would read this...and Arigatou for the votes! Hmmm...this could be very hard. To tell you the truth, kimpfn, I never considered Touya+Kia ....hmmmm....well, people, keep reading and let me know if your votes change...because I honestly still have no idea. ^.^ Oh, well. Here's Chapter Three, which takes place three days after the Jin and Touya Incident.  
  
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Kia sighed tiredly, adjusting her skirt. She'd been studying at Keiko's house for an upcoming math test and she never wanted to see another number or percentage again. *The sun hasn't set yet...if I hurry, I can make it to Yusuke's before dark.* She quickened her pace, feeling suddenly uneasy.  
  
Perched on a fence post, a tall blonde man watched the girl speed up. "I wonder if she sensed us."  
  
His blue-haired companion snorted. "Not likely. She's just a ningen. I don't see why SHE'S worthy of MY protection."  
  
"Shishiwakamaru..." the blonde shook his head. "You're hopeless."  
  
"Whatever." Shishiwakamaru sighed. "I say we grab her before she can scream. We can explain later."  
  
"Remember Touya's warning? Don't sneak up on her."   
  
"PLEASE, Suzuki! Jin is an inexperienced idiot. Anyone can hear him coming from a mile away. Small wonder that the ningen managed to hit him."  
  
"Shishi-"  
  
"Forget it. I'll get her myself." The youkai launched himself at the girl as quietly as he could. She hadn't spotted him yet and there was no way that she could possibly sense him. *Unsuspecting little ningen girl...*  
  
Kia saw a flash of red in her inner vision, rather than through own eyes. Right behind her.  
  
Shishiwakamaru smirked. "Heh, heh, he-"  
  
WHOMP. He got up close and personal with a schoolbag. A very heavy schoolbag. Then he made contact with the ground.  
  
Kia stared down at the youkai, exasperated. "What IS it with everyone attacking me?" she asked rhetorically, not really expecting an answer.  
  
Suzuki walked up, approaching her slowly. The girl saw the same flash of red and turned to see him, taking a step back and glaring at him. He raised his hands. "Whoa, there...he was warned not to sneak up on you by two certain demons..." He sighed. "But he never listens."  
  
"You...You mean..." Her brown eyes widened. "Botan sent you too?" When Suzuki nodded, she groaned and prodded Shishiwakamaru gingerly with her foot. "Shimatta, I did it again..."  
  
"Did what again?"  
  
Startled, Kia and Suzuki turned to see a human girl with somewhat-long ash-blonde hair staring at them. Like Kia, she was also dressed in the Sarayashiki school uniform. Her gray eyes focused on the girl. "Kia?"  
  
"Kelsey?" Kia blinked. "What are you doing here? I thought you still lived in the United States..."  
  
"That's a good question." Her pen pal shrugged. "I wish I knew the answer."  
  
Shishiwakamaru moaned slightly, and got to his feet. "You...you...HIT me?" He addressed Kia.  
  
She made an amused noise. "You snuck up on me. Better safe than sorry." Kelsey, peering curiously at Shishiwakamaru, spotted a sheathed sword at his waist. Her eyes narrowed.  
  
The samurai glared at her. "Well, if you'll just come with-" The blue-haired youkai started towards Kia.  
  
WHOMP. Down he went. Again. This time, the offender was Kelsey's schoolbag, which weighed just as much as Kia's did.  
  
"You know, those things are really efficient," Suzuki remarked.  
  
Kia grinned at him. "So are cookie sheets."  
  
"Ummmm..." Kelsey blinked at the blonde. "Who ARE you? And why is your little buddy with the weird hair after Kia...and carrying a sword?"  
  
"My name is Suzuki," the youkai told them. "That imbecile over there is Shishiwakamaru."  
  
Kelsey grimaced. "What a mouthful."  
  
"Try saying it three times fast," Kia suggested.  
  
Kelsey tried. "Shishiwakamaru, Shishiwashamaru, Shishiwakamaka..."  
  
Her friend laughed. "Good try."  
  
Suzuki shrugged. "Just call him Shishi. He hates it, but..." he shrugged again.  
  
Shishiwakamaru sat up again, rubbing his head. "Who did that?" He fixed a glare on Kia.  
  
Kelsey lifted her schoolbag threateningly. "I did. Want another?"  
  
Kia formed a sweatdrop. "Now, now, Kelsey..."  
  
Her friend ignored her. "Bring it on, SHISHI," she challenged.  
  
"Oh, no...she's done it now." Suzuki shook his head in dismay.  
  
The samurai youkai stared at Kelsey for a long moment. "How old are you?"  
  
"Huh?" Kelsey blinked. "It's none of your business, I'm younger than twenty and older than twelve."  
  
"You intrigue me," Shishiwakamaru said dazedly.   
  
"Um..." Kia looked up at Suzuki. "It could just be me...but is he in love with Kelsey because she hit him with a schoolbag?"  
  
The blonde shrugged. "Looks like it, although you gave him a good knock too. Gomen."  
  
Kelsey was staring at Shishiwakamaru with a horrified expression on her face. "Stay FAR away from me," she told him. She glanced over at Kia. "Kindly explain to me what the HELL is going on," she said in English.  
  
Kia sighed. "I don't really know myself." She, too, replied in English. "Only that there are a bunch of demons and humans baby-sitting me."  
  
"You're a Mirror Wielder," came another voice.   
  
Surprised, the girls turned to Suzuki. "You speak English?" Kelsey asked.  
  
He grinned. "I get around."  
  
"So, this mirror thing..." Kia began.  
  
*OOC*   
  
Hoo boy. This is fun! What Mirror is Suzuki talking about? And how did Kelsey end up in Japan? And is Shishiwakamaru really in love with Kelsey...and why? Not to mention...who will Kia end up with? Kurama (he's got two votes so far), Jin (three), or Touya (1). I'm not even going to mention Hiei...o.O 


	4. The arrival of the Zankoku

Arigatou, everyone! Your comments mean a lot to me...hopefully, I won't have to decide who Kia ends up with...yet. ^.~ When we left off, Kia was asking Suzuki about a mirror he had mentioned...  
  
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"Oh, that. Apparently, you hold half of an ancient mirror inside of you." Suzuki said this as casually as if he were just commenting on the weather.  
  
Kelsey winced. "Sounds painful."  
  
"It's not. Unless others tried to rip it out of your body. Only youkai can achieve this, as the mirror is made of pure light."  
  
"Lovely," Kia murmured. "Tell me, Suzuki, how did I get this...mirror in the first place?"  
  
The man smiled ruefully. "I really have no idea. The only one who could tell you would be Ashita, the creator of the Mirror...or Densetsu no Kagami."  
  
"Mirror of Legend..." Kia clarified. "So...you said I have HALF of the mirror?"  
  
Suzuki nodded approvingly. "You're a fast learner. There are two halves of the Mirror...Giyuu, or Courage...and Jihi, or Compassion, the Warrior and Healer aspects, respectfully." He pointed to Kelsey. "And the other half, if I'm not mistaken, resides in her."  
  
"HUH?" Kelsey's eyes widened. "Now, wait-!"  
  
"Can you please speak in Japanese?" Shishiwakamaru interrupted.  
  
Kia grinned. "Lo siento."  
  
  
  
The blue-haired youkai stared at her. "Nani?"  
  
The girl returned to speaking Japanese. "Gomen nasai. I was practicing my Spanish." She looked at Kelsey. "Bet you have the Courage half, O Warrior of Schoolbags."  
  
"And you must have Compassion, O Healer of Blue-haired Idiots," Kelsey countered.  
  
"He can heal himself." Kia snorted derisively. "Oh!" A realization struck her. "I wonder if we can use these mirrors...and I still don't understand what they do."  
  
Shishiwakamaru stood. "You can ask THEM," he said tersely. "After all, it's you they're after."  
  
Kia blinked. She looked-and gasped. There was a group of ugly, misshapen brown horned creatures ambling towards them. "What ARE those?"  
  
Suzuki frowned. "Zankoku. Miserable little youkai who feast on maidens and live for power and destruction."  
  
"Cute little things," Kelsey remarked dryly.  
  
"Be that as it may, you two are in danger."  
  
"How can you be so sure? Maybe they're just selling insurance."  
  
"Girrrl..." One youkai rasped, latching onto Kia's skirt. "Giiive mirroooor...Giiiive...yeeesss?"  
  
  
  
Kia's eyes widened in horror. "Iie! No, no, no!!" She beat at the fingers, but they were surprisingly strong." "Let GO of me!" With a jerk, she broke free, but the fingers still clutched some of her skirt. Shaken, Kia stumbled backwards.  
  
"Go," Shishiwakamaru told them, drawing his sword. "We'll hold them off. Go to Urameshi's house."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Kia, come ON!" Kelsey grabbed her hand and started running. They evaded the grabbing Zankoku and kept going, Kia giving directions to the house.  
  
"Okay, turn left, then straight for two blocks..."  
  
Suddenly, Kelsey stopped.  
  
"Kelsey?" Kia peered over the girl's shoulder. "What's wrong?"  
  
"I...SENSE something..." the girl replied. "Can't you?"  
  
Kia paused. There was a sort of pulsing brown color in her awareness. "Um...Kelsey?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
Kia swallowed. "They're right behind us."  
  
"And in front of us, too," Kelsey said calmly. "I guess we'll have to run through 'em."  
  
"Run THROUGH-In case you haven't noticed, we're not exactly beefy linebackers!"  
  
"I'm a good actress." Kelsey smirked. "And so are you. Just pretend we're about 200 pounds heavier."  
  
Kia shook her head. "I can't believe we're having this conversation."  
  
Kelsey released her hand. "Get ready."  
  
The girl sighed. "Here we go." She shifted. "Tally-ho!"  
  
The two charged forward. Taken aback, the youkai hesitated. With two well-placed whacks, Kelsey had dispatched three. Kia, using her schoolbag as a shield, leapt lightly from the ground and planted her foot on a demon's chest, knocking him and the other positioned behind him over. She landed, stumbled slightly, then kept running.  
  
They had taken out eleven youkai, when Kia tripped and fell. Instantly, the Zankoku swarmed over her.  
  
"Kia!" Kelsey shouted, but more of the evil creatures grabbed her arms and pulled her down.  
  
"Ourrrs..." the demons hissed gleefully. "Allll ourrrrs..."  
  
Something in Kelsey snapped. "Get OFF!" She felt a warm glow inside and then the earth started to shake violently. The youkai were thrown away from her, bursting into green fire.  
  
"Whew..." Kelsey stood up...but the earth was still moving. There were screams and doors slammed as people panicked.  
  
"Kelsey, make it stop!" Kia cried, still struggling with the Zankoku.  
  
"I...I can't! I didn't do it!!" Kelsey protested.  
  
A stack of large concrete pipes used for construction began to rattle...then broke free and fell off the construction building towards Kia.  
  
Kelsey started forward, but Kia was too far...she'd be crushed before she could get there.  
  
The zankoku released Kia, gibbering wildly in panic, then disappeared. The girl heard a clank and looked up to see several pipes coming at her head...fast. She (involuntarily) let out a scream. *Idiot! Move!* Her mind ordered her, but her body refused to listen. It was if she'd been frozen to the spot. *What... Shimatta! I can't move...and I'm going to die!*  
  
Someone grabbed her and lifted her up and away from the pipes. They hit the ground where she'd been only seconds ago with a crash.  
  
Kia stared down at the mess, and suddenly became aware that she was shaking like mad-and floating in the air.  
  
"It's okay...you're fine..." Her rescuer whispered.  
  
That voice... "JIN?"  
  
"Aye! That was a close call, lass. Those pipes almost got you."  
  
"You...noticed..." Kia replied. She couldn't seem to stop trembling.  
  
"Kia?" Concerned, Jin peered at her. "You've gone white...and you're shaking like a leaf!"  
  
"Leaves don't shake of their own free will..." Kia whispered. "And I didn't freeze of my own will, either." Her eyes closed, and she sagged in the Wind Master's grip.  
  
Now becoming alarmed, Jin shook her gently. No response, but she was breathing.  
  
"KIA?" Kelsey stood on the ground, looking up at the redhead holding her friend. "What'd you do to her?!"  
  
"He didn't do anything," Suzuki said tiredly behind her. "Your friend just had a sort of shock...but you seem to be all right."  
  
"Actually," Kelsey admitted, "My head hurts and I can't feel my legs."  
  
Shishiwakamaru regarded her oddly. "And yet you still stand. Warrior's spirit, indeed." He sighed. "I suppose I shall have to carry you."  
  
"Oh, NO you don't!" she growled. "Don't even think-"  
  
The samurai ignored her, picked her up, and slung her over his right shoulder. Kelsey wasn't happy.  
  
"PUT ME DOWN, YOU OVERBEARING BLUE-HAIRED BASTARD!!"  
  
Suzuki watched the spectacle, chuckling. He glanced up at Jin. "She'll be all right, Wind Master?"  
  
"Aye, with a little bit of rest!" he called down. "I'll be takin' her back t'Urameshi's now." With the wind to buoy him, he flew off.  
  
Suzuki sighed. "Well, Botan DID say that this would certainly not be dull." He sighed again and followed Shishiwakamaru, who was busy defending against Kelsey's furious punches at his head.  
  
*OOC*  
  
Whew! Poor Kia's had a bit of a shock, and she'll need some rest. Kelsey isn't too happy about her predicament, either. I think the only ones who might be happy is Shishiwakamaru (who gets to touch his beloved Kelsey), Suzuki (hey, he was bored!), and maybe Jin. But why Jin? Hmmm... Stay tuned and review! Ja ne! 


	5. Developing Powers

Whew...sorry it took so long, minna-san! I just moved from San Diego, CA to Park City, UT, so I'm recovering from the shock. Plus, my computer wasn't unpacked...*sniffles* Anyway...I have a new monitor now and no more dial-up! *dances* When we last left the story, Kelsey and Kia had just fought off a bunch of nasty little youkai and Kia had been frozen against her will! Jin managed to save her, but the shock of it all caused Kia to pass out. Oh, yeah and a disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters. (Oh, boy, I wish I did...) I DO, however, own Kia and Kelsey...well, kind of. Kelsey owns herself. I'll own a lot of other people before this is done, and you, my readers, might get a chance to show up in the story...hehehe...maybe. Onwards!  
  
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"Look...I think she's waking up!"  
  
"About time."  
  
"Shut up, Shishi, she only slept for a day."  
  
"I told you she'd be fine, Jin. She just needed some rest."  
  
"No, I told YOU!"  
  
Kia slowly opened her eyes, blinking as she adjusted to the sunlight filtering through the window. Five faces broke out into grins.  
  
"Ah, good, you look much better." Kurama smiled down at her.  
  
Yusuke nodded. "When Jin brought you in, you were babbling about someone freezing you."  
  
"I...was?" Kia blinked. "I don't remember..."  
  
"You were asleep," Shishiwakamaru informed her, rolling his eyes. "Of course you don't."  
  
"But you feel better?" Jin asked hopefully. When Kia nodded, he sighed in relief. "That's good."  
  
"Kia..." At the quiet summons, she looked at Touya. "Why did you faint?"  
  
The girl frowned thoughtfully, reviewing the events of two days ago. "I couldn't move. I couldn't control my body at all. I guess it was the shock. If Jin hadn't come along just then, I would've..." She trailed off.  
  
"Died?" Shishiwakamaru finished for her. "What a pity."  
  
Yusuke groaned. "Someone get him out of here."  
  
"And Kel-" Kia stopped abruptly. "Kelsey! Where is she? What happened to her??"  
  
"Your friend?" Kurama looked at Kia. "She's fine. Kuwabara and Suzuki are explaining things to her."  
  
The girl nodded and slowly rose from her makeshift bed of several blankets piled on top of one another. "Kelsey?" she called, heading towards the kitchen.  
  
"Kia!" Kelsey looked up from where she sat at a table with Kuwabara and Suzuki. "You're okay!" She jumped up and hugged her friend.  
  
"Of course I am," Kia replied, as Kelsey stepped back. "Did they fill you in?"  
  
"Hai!" Kelsey nodded enthusiastically. "Tell me, Kia..." Her gray eyes sparkled with mischief. "Did you REALLY smack Jin with a cookie sheet?"  
  
"A GREASED cookie sheet," Touya added with a straight face as he and the others joined them.  
  
Kia sighed, fidgeting. "It was an ACCIDENT..."  
  
Kelsey burst into laughter. "So you DID hit him! Poor Jin."  
  
"Naw, my skull's thick," Jin said cheerfully.  
  
"Better a cookie sheet than a schoolbag," Suzuki murmured, a similar glint of mischief in his own eyes. "Right, Shishi?"  
  
The youkai glared at the blonde. "Shut up."  
  
"Yeah, or Kia'll hit you with something too!" Yusuke said, snickering. This was enough to set Kuwabara off, and even Touya couldn't repress a smile.  
  
"Stop, you're making Kia uncomfortable," Kurama interceded.  
  
Kia stalked past them and into the bathroom. She emerged dressed in blue jeans, a black T-shirt, and a red hooded pullover. "I hate all of you," she informed them flatly, before she left the house. The door slammed shut behind her.  
  
Kelsey, all innocence, held up a plate. "Cookie, anyone?"  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Kia jogged to a quiet little park, pink spots still on her cheeks. "Bakas," she muttered angrily. "I can't believe I'm placing my life in THEIR hands."  
  
  
  
With a sigh, she flopped down on the grass and leaned against a sturdy oak. A curious sparrow landed near her foot. Kia smiled. "You're lucky, little bird," she murmured. "No one's after you because you have some stupid mirror inside you and no one's teasing you about cookie sheets."  
  
The sparrow tilted its head slightly.  
  
"Here I am, stuck with people like Shishiwakamaru, who hates me, and Hiei, who ignores me. Yusuke's a total pervert and Kuwabara's an idiot!"  
  
Kurama, who'd been sent to find Kia, heard her voice. He followed it and saw her engaged in a one-sided conversation with a sparrow.  
  
"...Don't get me wrong, they're not all that bad...Touya's good to go to for advice and he doesn't treat me like a little kid. Suzuki seems nice enough. Jin can always cheer me up and he saved my life...even after I knocked him out with a cookie sheet. And Kurama...if it wasn't for him, who knows where'd I be? He rescued me from that gang...he's like the big brother I never had."  
  
"That's very sweet of you to say that, Kia."  
  
"Kurama!" Kia stared at him for a moment, as the sparrow took flight.  
  
"Gomen. I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation with your feathered friend." The Youko smiled. "Ready to come back now?"  
  
The girl nodded. "I wish...I knew what the Mirrors DO..." she said softly, half to herself.  
  
Kurama looked down at her, then pulled her to her feet. "You'll know someday. But until then, we'll have to discover your powers."  
  
"My what?"  
  
"Your powers. Your reiki has been lying dormant for some time now. I think it'll be interesting to awaken it."  
  
There was a long pause. "You've lost me," Kia said finally.  
  
"I tend to do that. My apologies." The Youko sighed softly. "I don't know how or why the Mirror chose you and your friend, Kia, but know this: None of us will let anything happen to either of you."  
  
Kia smiled up at him. "Arigatou, Kurama-san."  
  
"So, about that cookie sheet-"  
  
"KURAMA!"  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
"Itai..." Kelsey winced as she tried to fold her legs into the traditional meditation pose. She was failing miserably.  
  
Kia grinned, watching her friend struggle with it. "Don't worry, the soreness won't kick in until tomorrow."  
  
"How comforting," the girl grumbled.  
  
Touya, siting perfectly in meditation, opened one eye and smiled at the pair. "You'll adjust," he reassured Kelsey. "But please, try to be silent. When you are utterly at peace, you can search for your reiki."  
  
Properly chastened, Kelsey shut her eyes...and her mouth. Kia did the same.  
  
"Now...imagine yourselves in a peaceful place...a sanctuary where you can be by yourself..."  
  
Kia (without really thinking about it) found herself standing in a grove of majestic redwoods. There was a brisk, refreshing breeze blowing and she smiled in delight as it ruffled her hair and clothes. *It's so beautiful...*  
  
"Ah..." Touya's voice cut through her meditation. Kia opened her eyes and saw the Ice Master smiling proudly. "I'd say that was successful."  
  
Kia glanced at Kelsey-and discovered that she was glowing an icy blue color tinged with a rich, deep green, all of which was surrounded by a faint golden glow. "Colorful," she remarked, blinking repeatedly to clear the spots from her eyes.  
  
Kelsey, who was staring at herself in a silver hand mirror, passed it to Kia. "You're not so plain yourself."  
  
Kia looked at her reflection. She too bore that same icy blue glow, but the color that tinged it was white and the glow that suffused all of THAT was silver. "Okay, I'm confused," she announced, lowering the mirror as the colors faded, leaving the girls their normal selves again.  
  
"That blue color is your reiki," explained Touya. "That fuels your attacks. The colors after that, green and white in your cases, are your own power, which determines how your reiki will be used. And the faint glow that both of you possess are the Mirror halves. As their power hasn't been tapped into yet, their glow is relatively weak."  
  
"That'll change one day, I bet," Jin called out, as he stepped into the room. "How'd they do, Touya?"  
  
The Ice Master smiled at his "students". "They did beautifully. I leave them now in your capable hands, Jin."  
  
"'Capable hands' and 'Jin' are two words I never thought I'd hear in the same sentence," Kelsey whispered to Kia.  
  
The girl glanced up at the redhead, chatting animatedly with Touya. "He just might surprise you, Kelsey."  
  
*OOC*  
  
Well, well, well...how'd I do, guys? Please review! Also, in later chapters, I'll need someone who knows where Ashita lives, Ashita's assistant, and a friend of the Tantei. Which is where you, my readers, come in! If you want to be one of the three, please either e-mail me or ask in the review. There are some qualifications. I need a short bio of your char (but please, more than one sentence, I need looks and personality, people!) and you must be an author at this site. First come, first served, unless I decide otherwise. Also, later on, I'll have a chapter entirely devoted to questions to the characters of this story! I'll keep you all posted on that. And here's a little teaser for next chapter...  
  
* Kelsey and Kia start training, trying to develop their powers.  
  
* Jin ends up in an awkward position (literally), and it's up to him and Touya to find Kia when she runs out on them. Some of Kia's past is explained, so stay tuned! 


	6. Past Revealed somewhat

I feel bad for taking so long, so here's another chapter for your viewing pleasure! Don't worry, I'm hard at work typing away...^.^ Remember, your opinions still count! Hehe, I be having a lot of fun confusing everyone with who Kia should end up with...as one of my reviewers pointed out, I had some good scenes with Jin and Kurama. Hmmm...Well, if you didn't read the last chapter, Kia woke up, Kia lost her temper, Kia went to a park and talked to a sparrow. Kurama talked to her, and Kia went back. Now, Kia and Kelsey are hard at work, trying to develop their powers.  
  
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"You're right. He DID surprise me," Kelsey said later, as she and Kia collapsed on the floor. "Who'd've thought that wind could be so fun?"  
  
"The wind's always fun," Kia mumbled into the carpet. "Except when it's misused."  
  
"Nani?" Her friend waited for further clarification. When she received none, she sighed. "And then there were those fencing lessons with Shishiwakamaru and Hiei..."  
  
"He likes you, you know..."  
  
"Hiei?"  
  
"No, you baka. Shishiwakamaru. He kept staring over at you and I accidentally smacked him with the hilt."  
  
Kelsey's eyebrows rose. "With the HILT?"  
  
"He didn't dodge, and I kept going!" Kia said defensively.  
  
"Oh, so THAT'S why you ran into the tree."  
  
The girl coughed into her hand. "What about those self-defense lessons with Kuwabara and Yusuke?"  
  
Kelsey snickered. "That was great! When you told Yusuke that his fighting stance was too narrow and someone could knock him over with a feather, I thought I'd die laughing."  
  
"Really?" Kia grinned. "I liked the part when you told Kuwabara to stop treating you like glass, and then when he put you in a headlock, you...hit below the belt." She paused thoughtfully. "I don't think I've ever heard him go that high before."  
  
"He was asking for it," Kelsey insisted. "Besides, YOU totally trashed Yusuke. You've got to teach me that Hap-Kido wrist technique."  
  
"Hai!" her friend agreed. "But we still haven't been able to show any powers yet."  
  
"I know." Kelsey sighed tiredly. "Maybe tomorrow."  
  
"Tomorrow..." Kia echoed. "I don't even want to think that far. It's not even noon yet."  
  
"You two look energetic." Suzuki seemed amused as he and the others entered. "Going to pry yourselves off the floor anytime soon?"  
  
"No," Kelsey told him.  
  
"It's very comfortable," Kia muttered.  
  
Hiei stared down at them. "Hn."  
  
"Let's not mince words, Hiei," Yusuke said jokingly. "Tell us how you REALLY feel."  
  
"I'd punch him if I had the energy," Kelsey announced from the floor.  
  
"You? Punch me? Ha!"  
  
"If I remember correctly, Yusuke, she did land a few punches on you," Touya reminded him.  
  
"Unless you were gonna say you fell down the stairs," Kuwabara sniggered.  
  
"She thrashed you too," Shishiwakamaru said.  
  
"And Kia wasn't too shabby either," Jin added.  
  
"I suppose they're capable of defending themselves," Touya said with a small smile. "Even without their powers."  
  
"Should be interesting when they DO show 'em," Suzuki commented.  
  
"Real Battling Beauties," Kuwabara agreed.  
  
"Ssh..." Kurama spoke up. "Look."  
  
They followed his fingers and saw both girls fast asleep. Kelsey had dropped her touch act and now seemed as innocent as an angel...but they all knew better. And Kia? The pain, the sorrow, the fear that still haunted her...it was gone. She suddenly seemed very vulnerable. They both did.  
  
"Awww..." Jin whispered, reaching out to touch Kia's dark hair. "They're asleep."  
  
"It's no surprise," Shishiwakamaru said quietly, and everyone was surprised to see his pink eyes soften. "Look at what they've done today."  
  
"He's right," Touya agreed. "They've worked hard and they deserve a break."  
  
Kurama smiled. "Why not give them one? They can't stay cooped up in here forever."  
  
"Y'know...that's not a bad idea!" Yusuke said thoughtfully. "But where could we go?"  
  
  
  
Silence. Then...  
  
"Beach." Said Hiei.  
  
"Perfect! We'd have to wait until school's out and the weather clears up, though. We could invite Keiko, and Botan, and Yukina too." Yusuke smirked. "Girls in bathing suits." He looked down at Kia and Kelsey. "And girls asleep...wearing school uniforms."  
  
Jin blinked. "What's so good about that?"  
  
Kuwabara patted the confused Wind Master on the back. "Never seen a girl in a bathing suit, have you? And I bet you've never taken advantage of a sleeping girl, either. You're missing out on a lot."  
  
"Neither have you," Hiei muttered.  
  
Jin was still puzzled. "Taken advantage...?"  
  
"Wait!" Touya protested, seeing the look in Yusuke's eyes. "You can't just-!"  
  
"We're not going to DO anything," Yusuke said in an exasperated tone of voice, lifting Kia and placing her on the sofa. "I'm just going to demonstrate how easy it is."  
  
Touya looked disapproving and Shishiwakamaru stepped closer to Kelsey, one hand on his sword hilt. He glared at the others, as if daring them to go near her. Kurama frowned.  
  
"Now, Jin..." Yusuke began. "Here is a fine specimen of the human female. In a school uniform, her legs are very much exposed...and there's easier access to her panties. Not to mention that when she's sleeping, she can't slap you silly." He placed a hand on Kia's leg, right below her skirt hem. The other reached for her chest.  
  
"Urameshi!" Jin leapt forward, snatching Yusuke's hands away. "You can't-"  
  
"You're right," the boy said with a grin. "Keiko would kill me. But YOU can!" He shoved the Wind Master, who fell forward...onto Kia. He grabbed her leg and shoulder to keep from completely falling on her. What he achieved was pushing her skirt up in a jumble near his hand. His head was also WAY too close to her chest as he desperately struggled to right himself.  
  
To make matters worse, Kia chose that exact moment to wake up. Jin stared down into a pair of startled brown eyes. But the startlement rapidly changed into anger.  
  
"What are you DOING?!"  
  
"I...er...um...I..." Jin stammered, feeling his face heat. He pushed himself off.  
  
"You...you...you..." The girl slowly pointed to him. "You're just as bad as they were..." Her eyes were bright, but her voice didn't shake at all. She leapt off the sofa. "I can't believe I trusted you!"  
  
"But-"  
  
"You act nice and cheerful, but you're just like them!" She flung the words at him. "I'd hate to see you drunk!" With that cryptic remark, she ran past him and out of the house. Jin started after her, but Suzuki laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't."  
  
"It's Urameshi's fault!" Kuwabara protested. "It's no fair her being mad at Jin!"  
  
"But she's right t' be angry with me."  
  
"Huh?" Kuwabara was baffled.  
  
"She's right," Jin repeated in a low voice. "I had no right to touch her. I should've stopped Urameshi when he first suggested it."  
  
"There's nothing you can do now that it's happened," Touya said quietly.  
  
"Wha...what's going on?" Kelsey said sleepily, yawning. "Where's Kia?"  
  
There was an embarrassed silence as almost every male in the room carefully avoided her questioning gaze.  
  
"She ran out," Hiei said at last.  
  
"Ran out?" Kelsey stared at him. "Why?"  
  
"It seems Yusuke wanted to show Jin how easy it is to take advantage of sleeping girls," Kurama said, voice taut. "Deliberately forgetting Kia's past."  
  
"That ningen gang..." Touya remembered. "Of course! No wonder she was so upset."  
  
"Gang?" The girl blinked. "What gang? What happened to her parents?"  
  
"You know her family?" Yusuke asked eagerly.  
  
"Sure." Kelsey shrugged. "She hasn't mentioned them lately, though..."  
  
Jin looked out the window. "A brisk wind...good. Come on, Touya."   
  
Bemused, the Ice Master followed his friend.  
  
"Where're THEY going?" Suzuki wondered.  
  
Shishiwakamaru rolled his eyes. "To find the girl, of course."  
  
Outside, Jin turned to Touya. "I'll fly up and look for her. You can go by foot...unless you want to fly."  
  
The Shinobi shuddered. "I prefer my feet firmly on the ground, thank you."  
  
Jin grinned and floated into the air, allowing the winds to bear him over the city. Looking down as he flew, he saw a tiny figure in blue and yellow running toward a park. If she reached it and disappeared among the trees, he wouldn't be able to find her. With a quick swoop and a rush of air to announce his arrival, Jin landed in front of Kia.  
  
"Go away," she said quietly.  
  
"Kia, let me explain!"  
  
"What's there to explain about?!" she flared at him. "I've had enough with being forced to be someone's plaything! Go AWAY!"  
  
"Kia-"  
  
It was if there had been a dam inside her heart, trying to hold back the nightmarish memories, the constant fear and mistrust. But now it burst.  
  
"Just shut up, Jin! You don't know what it's like to watch your parents die before your very eyes! You don't know what it's like to find out that they weren't actually your parents! You have no idea what it feels like to be beaten within an inch of your life by a bunch of drunken bastards, with the only one who'd protected you dead! AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE A BUNCH OF YOUKAI WANTING YOU DEAD FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON EXCEPT TO GET AT A STUPID MIRROR INSIDE OF YOU! SO JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!"  
  
The concrete beneath her feet glowed a bluish-white, and then the light rose up around the girl, forming a sort of prismatic barrier. Every now and then, silver sparks crackled across the surface of shifting blue and white.  
  
Jin cautiously touched the wall, then yanked his hand back. His palm was burnt red.  
  
"Jin!" Touya finally caught up. "I just felt a tremendous surge of ener-" He broke off, staring at the pillar of light. "She's in there?"  
  
The Wind Master nodded affirmation. "She...she's in a lot of pain."  
  
"As you will be, of you try getting through that," Touya told him, nodding to his friend's reddened palm.  
  
"I know...but..." Jin closed his eyes briefly, hearing Kia's words again. *You don't know what it's like to watch your parents die...to find out that they weren't actually your parents...to be beaten within an inch of your life...to have a bunch of youkai wanting you dead...*  
  
He opened his eyes and gazed at the barrier. "She's been through enough already. I don't want her to cry anymore. I'm going in."  
  
The Ice Master looked at Jin's face. Absolute resolution. He sighed. "I'll go, too."  
  
On a silent signal, they ran at the barrier, half-expecting to be forcibly repelled. But it let them through, although it burned like needles of fire. Jin and Touya struggled through the rippling layers of light. At last, they caught sight of the kneeling figure in the center. Jin stepped forward and touched her shoulder and he and Touya, who had placed one hand on his friend's shoulder to keep from getting separated, were abruptly caught in a memory that didn't belong to either of them.  
  
***Memory***  
  
Kia sobbed as she ran, splashing in puddles and not caring at all if they drenched her skirt. She was soaked anyway.  
  
*What did she mean "Your mother and father would be proud to see how you turned out"? SHE'S my mother!*  
  
"Oh!" Her foot skidded on a patch of water and she performed a sort of awkward belly flop onto the ground. She closed her eyes in defeat, crying silently.  
  
Pedestrians politely stepped over the girl lying in the puddle, continuing on their way.  
  
*WHY?* She screamed inside. *Why are you ignoring me? Am I invisible?*  
  
Someone lifted under her arms and hauled her to her feet.  
  
"Hey...what's wrong?"  
  
Kia looked up at a tall young man who had warm hazel eyes and a shock of black hair.  
  
"Are you lost? Did you hurt yourself? Are you homeless?"  
  
Kia shook her head on the first two questions, and nodded on the last one.  
  
"Homeless, huh?" The boy ruffled her damp hair. "I'm Mamoru. If you want, you can stay at our gang hideout. They're kind of rough but I won't let them hurt you, I promise!" he added hastily, seeing the look of alarm on his companion's face. "So how about it? It's better than staying out in the rain." He winked at her.  
  
Kia slowly nodded. What other choice did she have?  
  
***End Memory***  
  
The memory abruptly shifted from a wet and gloomy city, to somewhere in Makai. A young woman with gleaming brown hair in a neat braid, wearing a simple white yukata (summer cotton kimono), sang softly to herself as she entered a small white cottage.  
  
*OOC*  
  
This was unexpected, wasn't it? Poor Jin didn't expect Kia to lash out at him. And who is the mysterious young woman in Kia's memory? We'll just see. Review!  
  
Next time...  
  
* Jin and Touya find out who the woman in Makai is and learn a little more about Mamoru.  
  
* Kia and Kelsey master their powers! YAY! 


	7. Shishiwakamaru asks a Favor

I'm glad to see that I have fans. ^.^ And to starkitty, Kurama's cool, I'll admit that, and so he IS like a big brother to Kia. Which leaves him unattached for all you fan-girls out there! Who knows, I may give Kurama a girlfriend later on, unless one of my reviewers wants the position. But! I've been asked to write more...so I'm writing more! Yay for me! Let's see, when we left off, Kia was furious at Jin for "supposedly" trying to take advantage of her, when it turns out that it was all Yusuke's fault! Group glare at Yusuke!  
  
Yusuke: *cowers*  
  
So Kia ran off, Jin and Touya pursued, and they somehow gained access to some of her memories...including an interesting one of a young woman...who could she be?  
  
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The young woman quietly opened the door and entered the cottage, breathing in the smell of sweet-smelling herbs and air thick with perfume. "Yuumei?" She called out, looking around.  
  
"I'm right here, Aiko." A regal old woman with long white hair cascading past her shoulders sat up in bed, peering at her visitor with bright blue eyes. "Come for more medicine for your morning sickness?"  
  
"No," said Aiko. "Actually...I wanted to speak with you."  
  
The old woman smiled. "About your child?"  
  
Aiko nodded, patting her belly, which was beginning to show signs of pregnancy. "It's been almost a year since Youko Kurama has vanished from Makai," she said quietly. "Is what you foresaw...is it to come true? My daughter will one day save the life of that thief?"  
  
Yuumei smiled gently. "My dear...my visions are never wrong. Your unborn child will one day change all three worlds. You DO remember the prophecy?"  
  
The woman paused. "Remind me again."  
  
The old woman complied. "'Summer rain will descend, and the children of earth and sky shall be united, under the creation of tomorrow, preventing the three worlds from harm.'" She coughed, the sound rattling in her throat, then took a sip from the glass of water by her bedside. "Your daughter will be protected by Kurama, wherever he is. And I daresay a few others too. Youkai and ningens alike."  
  
"I still don't understand..." Aiko whispered confusedly, her own blue eyes reflecting her emotions.  
  
"You don't have to. Only your child will." She suddenly turned her head and stared at the two Masters...who were there and yet...weren't there at all. "Out," she said firmly. "This isn't your memory, but now you can assist my granddaughter. Ashita will tell you all. Keep her safe or I'll give you hell from Reikai." She waved her hand in an impatient shooing gesture, and Jin blinked. He and Touya were back in the circle of light, along with Kia. She was staring up at them, eyes glittering with unshed tears that she blinked back furiously.  
  
"Kia..." Jin said softly. "I swear, it was all an accident. Urameshi pushed me and..." he trailed off. "I had no intention of hurting you or breaking your trust," he went on, his voice breaking slightly. "Please...you don't have to forgive me, but please don't cry."  
  
"I...won't cry if you don't cry..." Kia stood up slowly. "I'm...just afraid." She slowly reached for his hand and offered the other to Touya. When they grasped her hands, she smiled at them. "But not anymore. I can't keep everything hidden and if I can't tell the people I trust most, then who CAN I tell?" The barrier vanished.  
  
Jin squeezed Kia's hand gratefully, then winced. He'd forgotten about the burn on his palm. He quickly composed his features, but the girl had already seen. "Hands," she said sternly, gripping the Masters' wrists and turning them over. Touya's hands were unmarked, but he had several small burns on his face. Jin's palm was burned, along with his arms, legs, and chest...basically everything that wasn't covered.  
  
"Oh..." Kia gave a small gasp. "I can't believe you two risked yourselves just to reach me. You're bakas, you know that?"  
  
"We know," Jin said sheepishly, and Touya nodded. "Please don't hit us with any cookie sheets."  
  
"Or ANY inanimate object, for that matter," Touya elaborated solemnly.  
  
"I promise." Kia turned her attention to Jin's palm, touching it softly with her index finger. "If only I could-"  
  
Three pairs of eyes suddenly fastened on the soft blue light that sparkled from Kia's fingertip. It sank into Jin's burn and the wound shrank and disappeared.  
  
"Um," said Kia, after a moment of stunned silence. "What just happened?"  
  
"It seems to me that you have healing abilities," was Touya's tranquil reply. "Fast-working, I'd say, but then again you DO possess the Mirror Half of healing...how's the burn, Jin?"  
  
The youthful Wind Master stared at his palm in amazement. "It's gone!" He looked up at Kia. "I don't suppose you'd like to do the rest of me?" He asked hopefully.  
  
She grinned at him. "I'm not quite sure how I did it, but I'll try."  
  
"That's the spirit, lass!"  
  
Making a face at his reply, she carefully touched each of the wounds in turn, trying to recall the exact feeling she'd had when she had first healed his hand. Each mark gradually disappeared. She touched the last one on his chest and, that too vanished. Jin shivered slightly, touching the spot when Kia had turned away to tend to Touya. The coolness of her healing touch still lingered.  
  
"There. That should do it." Kia smiled at Touya. The Ice Master stood and bowed his thanks. "We should get back now," he told the other two.  
  
Jin nodded.  
  
"I can't."  
  
"You can't?" The redhead whirled, staring down at the girl, who was sitting on the ground. "Why not?"  
  
"I can't," Kia said patiently, "because my legs won't support me."  
  
"Too much healing will wear you out," Touya informed her.  
  
"I'm not TIRED," Kia replied. "Just...numb. Weak. Shaky." When the Ice Master raised a pale brow at her, she sighed. "Tired."  
  
"I'll carry you-" Jin began.  
  
"Iie." She wore that stubborn look that all of her new companions were beginning to see a lot of. "Don't even think about it. I'll drag myself by my arms, if I have to."  
  
Jin and Touya exchanged glances. Then they sat down too.  
  
Kia blinked. "What are you doing?"  
  
"We're supposed to protect you," Touya reminded her. "We won't leave you."  
  
"If you're not going, we're not going either," was Jin's emphatic agreement, adopting the same look that Kia wore.  
  
There was a soft sigh. "Bakas."  
  
"We know," they said in unison.  
  
"Oh..." Touya suddenly remembered. "Kia, when we touched you, we saw your memories...well, some of them."  
  
"Y-you did?" The girl seemed genuinely startled. "I didn't."  
  
"Who's Mamoru?" Jin asked curiously.  
  
Her brown eyes took on a tinge of sadness. "So you saw that one. He...was like a surrogate brother. He took me home to his gang when I had nowhere else to go. He prevented the others from..." Her voice halted slightly, then continued. "Doing things to me. As long as I stayed by Mamoru, I could go to school, keep writing to Kelsey, pretending everything was fine, and I was safe."  
  
"Then what happened?" Touya asked her, sensing there was more to tell.  
  
"The leader...Satou...he was mad that Mamoru wouldn't let any of them near me. He didn't think Mamoru had the authority to make those sort of decisions and if he wanted to 'have fun' with me, then Mamoru had to be gone. Permanently."  
  
Jin sucked in his breath, listening with bated breath.  
  
"On my first day at Sarayashiki, Satou told him that I'd been kidnapped by a rival gang on my way home from school. Mamoru went to save me, but his gang ambushed him and killed him. They hung his body from a lightpost that I walked under every day on my way to the warehouse, where their hideout was. His...his blood fell on my hand..." Her voice was thicker now with emotion and she was clenching and unclenching her right hand repeatedly. "And I was held against my will. I tried to run away once, but Satou caught me and beat me. I thought I would die." She smiled weakly. "Through it all, I kept writing letters to Kelsey. I'd hide the stamps and envelopes whenever they were near, and they never knew. I didn't want them to know, because I was afraid they'd take that away too..."  
  
"What about the other memory?" Jin said quickly, wanting to change the subject. "Who were Aiko and Yuumei?"  
  
Kia frowned slightly. "I've never heard those names before. Are you sure it was my memory?"  
  
"I believe it concerns you, but I'm not quite sure how...and Kurama was mentioned." Touya began to tell the story. "It started off in Makai, the demon world, with a young woman..."  
  
Suzuki, Shishiwakamaru, Kelsey, and Yusuke found the three an hour later, still seated on the pavement.  
  
"Did you have fun?" Kelsey asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"What took you guys so long?" Yusuke demanded.  
  
They exchanged a three-way glance. "The cement is very comfortable," Kia replied, keeping her face perfectly straight.  
  
"She's stubborn, Touya's stubborn, I'm stubborn, we're all stubborn!" Jin said cheerfully. "Let's all have a stubborn party!"  
  
Touya groaned and put a hand to his forehead, as if he had a headache (which he probably did). "I don't know him." He glanced over at Kia. "Legs still unsupportive?" When she nodded, he gestured to Yusuke, who made a big show of picking her up.  
  
"HEY!" Kia cried, struggling. "Put me down!"  
  
"Either you stop wriggling or Hiei will carry you," Yusuke told her exasperatedly.  
  
"But he's not even here!" The girl protested.  
  
"Hn."  
  
At the ever-so-familiar remark, they looked down. There stood Hiei, spiked hair slightly rumpled. He gave Kia a dark glare, fingering his katana.  
  
"Fine..." Kia muttered, avoiding the Jaganshi's unnerving stare.  
  
"Good girl." Yusuke grinned and shifted her, so that she was soon settled on his back, piggyback style.  
  
Jin and Touya rose and followed docilely. Shishiwakamaru (for no particular reason) picked up an unsuspecting Kelsey and hurried to catch up with the others. Suzuki strolled after them, grinning as he cried cries of "BASTARD..." drift back to him.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
As the weeks went by and summer grew closer, both Kia and Kelsey had developed their powers significantly. Kelsey could summon emerald flames, fight with a sword (and actually beat Hiei sometimes), and use a wide variety of attacks having to do with earth. For example, she could create tremors, much like the incident with the Zankoku (but it only worked when she was upset) and she was learning about Makai plants from Kurama.  
  
Kia's powers were much different. She could form what she called "Rei arrows": arrows formed of her own reiki and used like physical arrows on her opponent, much to the same effect. She could heal (although if she relied on it too much, it would wear her out), and she specialized in wind attacks. She preferred not to use it to fly, but used it instead as an attack, usually launched in the form of a tornado. It worked as a barrier too.  
  
Kelsey still disliked Shishiwakamaru intensely and went out of her way to avoid him. Poor Kia was either forced to play lookout or used as a human shield whenever he was near. It seemed to work. Shishiwakamaru tended to stay away whenever the girls were together. His dislike for Kia kept him at bay...which was why it came as a total surprise when the samurai approached her one day while she was relaxing in a tree near Yusuke's house, seated on a sturdy branch and leaning back against the trunk.  
  
"Kia."  
  
The girl, recognizing the voice, almost fell off. She steadied herself and looked down at Shishiwakamaru. "Hai?" She replied warily.  
  
"I...I need your advice on something."  
  
This time, Kia really DID fall off the branch. Shishiwakamaru caught her and set her on her feet.  
  
"Arigatou," the girl said dizzily, then blinked at him. "I don't think I heard you right. You said you wanted MY advice?"  
  
He nodded, looking pained.  
  
"On...?" She prompted.  
  
"On Kelsey," he blurted out.  
  
Comprehension dawned. "Ah...I'm afraid I can't be too much help for you there. I hardly understand Kelsey myself." Which was perfectly true. She didn't understand how Kelsey had arrived in Japan, nor did she understand why her friend was so determined to avoid Shishiwakamaru.  
  
"But you're her friend!" He persisted. "And you're female."  
  
"Um..." Kia stared at him. "Yes, I am, unless there's something I don't know about."  
  
The youkai sighed. "You MUST know what females are impressed by!"  
  
There was a second flash of understanding.  
  
"You...you want me to..." Kia started to giggle. "To teach you...how...to win Kelsey's heart!"  
  
He nodded again.  
  
Kia burst out laughing. She stopped, however, at the look on Shishiwakamaru's reddened face. "Oh my God, you're SERIOUS!"  
  
"I thought we'd established that," the youkai said, somewhat annoyed.  
  
The girl grinned apologetically. "Gomen. Well, Kelsey's a bit...different from most girls..."  
  
"I know," Shishiwakamaru said dreamily.  
  
"Three rules, then. Don't proclaim your love for her. Don't follow her around like a lovesick mongoose...which you basically are, but I digress. And have a DECENT conversation with her, without it ending with you bruised and battered." She shook her finger at him. "I can't keep healing you forever, you know!"  
  
He blinked. "That's it?"  
  
"Basically. But you've got to get to know her better," Kia told him. "Even if she hates you. You can't just fall in love with her because she walloped you with a schoolbag! Heck, I walloped you with a schoolbag!"  
  
"So it has to be a cookie sheet?" Shishiwakamaru shot back.  
  
"ENOUGH with the cookie sheet!" Kia glared at him. "Go! And remember what I said."  
  
"Hai." He turned to leave.  
  
"Oh, and Shishi-?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Try not to brag. Girls don't like guys with big egos, and your head is large enough already. If you keep at it, Kelsey will pop you like a balloon."  
  
Shishiwakamaru's reply was a single snort.  
  
*OOC*  
  
Hehehe...poor Kia. She didn't expect THAT one coming, did she? Well, guys, I still need those three (or four?) people! Keep reviewing and keep giving me your opinions, they mean a lot to me! If you have any questions, just ask in the review and I'll try to answer them. Next chapter...  
  
* Yusuke and co. get kicked out of his own house! But Suzuki has a secret...  
  
* Keiko suggests a little matchmaking scheme. How will Kia and Jin react when Yusuke puts a plan into action? You better believe it, it's not going to be pretty! And WHY is Shishiwakamaru locked in a towel cabinet? You're gonna have to wait and seeeee... 


	8. The Plotting Begins

Well, I'm back again...I just wanted to let my readers know that I appreciate everything...you've made me feel loved. *sniffles* I love you all! And so, I bequeath to each of you, a Pug!  
  
Hmm...to answer you, mai-ly, I chose the name Kia...well, just read my profile, you'll understand. Plus, her full name is Satsukiasame, and how many characters do you know with THAT name? OK, I have two characters...Mikage, who will be playing the role of friend to the Tantei, and Zyoshi (I hope I got that right, gomen! ^^()), who knows about the mirrors and where Ashita lives. Which leaves Ashita's assistant. I'd prefer it to be a male, thank you! The characters will be probably show up in later chapters. If you've been reading, you know where I left off. But, let's continue, neh?  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Your mom...kicked you out...of your own house?!" Kuwabara was dumbfounded.   
  
"Looks like it," Yusuke said casually. "She said that there were too many people hanging around and that she needed the house for HER friends. And also that if I complained so much, that I should be evacuated too."  
  
"But what about the others?" Yukina said worriedly. Kia and Kelsey had just met the soft-spoken Ice Maiden and already liked her. "Weren't they staying with you?"  
  
Kelsey recited names, ticking them off on her fingers. "Suzuki, Shishi, Touya, Jin, Kia, and me." She grinned. "Everyone else has a house and Hiei..." she shrugged.  
  
"Not to worry!" Suzuki said cheerfully. "I have a place nearby."  
  
Nine pairs of jaws dropped. Yukina looked confused and Shishiwakamaru smirked, knowing what his friend was talking about.  
  
"Well, that's good news!" Botan had dropped by to see how they were faring (and to secretly check that Kia and Kelsey hadn't been killed yet).  
  
"Room enough for everyone?" Jin asked anxiously.  
  
Suzuki smiled. "I'll let you be the judge of that."  
  
He led the others past the park that Kia often visited, deeper into the forest. He stopped in the middle of a clearing. There was nothing there.  
  
"Uh...Suzuki?" Yusuke blinked. "Where...is it?"  
  
Kuwabara strode forward, then suddenly fell on his back. The sight of the red-haired boy awkwardly waving his arms and legs around reminded Kia of a turtle on its back. She covered her mouth with her hands to keep from giggling.  
  
"Kazuma-san!" Yukina cried, helping him up. "Daijobu?"  
  
"Y-yeah...but I hit some sort of wall..."  
  
"Right!" Suzuki agreed happily. He took out a small glass bottle containing some orange liquid from his pocket, uncorked it, and sprinkled a few drops on the ground. A house appeared.  
  
Kia leapt back in startlement. "Nani??"  
  
"He made it invisible," Kurama realized. "Almost impossible to locate."  
  
The blonde youkai bowed grandly. "Shall we go in?" He opened the door, beckoning to Kia, Kelsey, Botan, and Yukina with a flourish of his arm. "Ladies first!"  
  
"You heard him," Hiei muttered to Kuwabara. "Go right ahead."  
  
"Say WHAT? You wanna fight, shrimp?!"  
  
"Save it for later," Touya interrupted them, following the girls. "Preferably when we're not around."  
  
Kia blinked as they stepped inside. The interior was spacious, with five bedrooms, a kitchen and dining room, a living room, and two bathrooms, side by side.  
  
"Left is for ladies," Suzuki informed his audience, pointing. "Right is for men."  
  
"Men? Where?" Kelsey looked around. "I don't see any men."  
  
"Be nice, Kelsey," Kia muttered to her friend.  
  
Suzuki, choosing to ignore the comment, beamed. "First come, first served for rooms!"  
  
In the end, Kia and Kelsey shared a room, Suzuki and Shishiwakamaru roomed together, Jin and Touya claimed one, and Hiei and Yusuke reluctantly took another room.  
  
"There's still one room left," Kia pointed out.  
  
"That's reserved for our guests," Suzuki said mysteriously, enjoying the puzzlement on the girl's face.  
  
"Guests? What guests?" Kelsey blinked.  
  
"That's RIGHT!" Botan grinned, pink eyes sparkling. "I'd better go check on their progress." With a parting wave, the ferrygirl departed.  
  
"I hate it when they don't tell us things," Kia muttered, and Yukina patted her arm sympathetically.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Three days passed by uneventfully. Surprisingly, it was Keiko this time who started off the next round of chaos.  
  
It was a cool day with overcast skies of dark gray. School had been out for a day, and those who attended it responded in different ways. Yusuke and Kuwabara argued over who had gotten the lowest test score. Keiko and Kurama mourned the ending of school. Kelsey thought they were insane. Kia and Kelsey did a "school-is-out-we're-free" dance, and then sat down to think up revenge on Iwamoto-sensei, for trying to fail Kelsey just because she'd defended Yusuke when he was accused of stealing someone's wallet (when Iwamoto was the actual culprit) and he'd gotten off...and also for Akashi-sensei, who had pinned Kia against the back of the building after school and would've done some unmentionable things to her if Yusuke and Kuwabara hadn't shown up and beaten him soundly. When the principal, after hearing Kia's furious litany, asked Akashi if it was true, the buck-toothed teacher claimed that SHE had thrown herself at HIM. It took the combined forces of Kuwabara, Yusuke, Keiko, and Kelsey to stop Kia from using one of her arrows on him.  
  
But, back to the day after...  
  
Keiko sat on Suzuki's porch, along with Yusuke, Botan, Suzuki, Kuwabara, Yukina, and Hiei. Shishiwakamaru had disappeared somewhere, Jin and Touya were asleep in their room, and Kurama was in the living room, settled in a cozy plush armchair and reading a thick book avidly.  
  
Kia and Kelsey were lying on the grass, compiling a list of revenge plans. Every now and then, their voices would float over to the group seated on the porch.  
  
"I say we lock Iwamoto in the broom closet."  
  
"Knock him out and gag him first, or he'll make too much noise..."  
  
"Oh, yeah..."  
  
"I still want to use my arrows on Akashi..."  
  
"Yeah, no one'll miss him..."  
  
"I think we should fix them up with some others," Keiko announced suddenly.  
  
"Fix WHO up?" Yukina asked, puzzled.  
  
"Kelsey and Kia."  
  
Suzuki snorted. "Shishi's already lost it over Kelsey."  
  
"But she hates him," Yusuke reminded the tall youkai.  
  
"There's a very thin line between love and hate," Botan said. "Her feelings could change..." She grinned mischievously. "With a little help from Matchmakers, Inc., of course."  
  
Keiko grinned back, catching on. "But what about Kia?"  
  
"She's a lost cause." Kuwabara sighed. "After that whole gang thing and that bastard Akashi, she flinches every time you touch her."  
  
"She's doing it less, though..." Suzuki said thoughtfully. "If she's ever going to recover from this, she'll need someone thoughtful, who will respect and understand what she's been through."  
  
"Yusuke and the buffoon are most definitely out, then." Hiei spoke up.  
  
"Yeah, Urameshi, you're about as sensitive as one of those Cultivated Humans!" Kuwabara chortled. "But who's the buffoon?"  
  
Hiei rolled his eyes skyward, choosing not to reply.  
  
"I think he meant YOU, Kuwabara," Botan told him gently.  
  
"ME?! That little shrimp, I'll pound him into-!"  
  
"Please, Kazuma-san, no violence!" Yukina said pleadingly.  
  
Kuwabara got a sort of dopey look on his face and clasped Yukina's tiny hands in his own large, awkward ones. "Anything for you, Yukina-san."  
  
Hiei tensed and one hand rested on his katana. How DARE that idiotic oaf touch his sweet pristine sister?!  
  
"So, then, who can we pick?" Botan said desperately, trying to divert Hiei's attention away from the unsuspecting Kuwabara, who was now gazing into Yukina's eyes.  
  
"All in all, we only have three candidates," Suzuki said, trying not to smile.  
  
"Oh?" Yusuke looked at him. "Who?"  
  
"Touya, Kurama, and Jin."  
  
Kuwabara almost choked as he heard the last name. "Jin?!"  
  
"Ssh, not so loud!" Botan hissed, as Kia and Kelsey looked up from their plotting to see what the outburst was about. She waved at them, sweatdropping, then sighed as they returned to their discussion.  
  
"Gomen," Kuwabara said, lowering his voice. "I can see Kurama and Touya...but JIN?"  
  
"Much as I hate to say it, the baka has a point." Hiei smirked. "He's practically Yusuke's twin. No WAY would he be considered thoughtful."  
  
"Yeah!" Kuwabara agreed, sniggering. "No girl with a brain would be with Urameshi, so Jin has no chance at all!"  
  
Keiko shot a very murderous glare at him, who sweatdropped. "Uh, gomen, Keiko! I...uh...I meant..." He began to mumble incoherently to himself.  
  
"But he DID manage to calm her down after she ran off," Suzuki recalled. "Of course, Touya was there too..."  
  
Botan laughed. "And he was pretty good-natured about getting hit with a greased cookie sheet."  
  
"Why not see how things turn out?" Yukina suggested. "I think you may be surprised by the way things turn out."  
  
Kuwabara turned adoring eyes back to the Koorime. "You're so smart, Yukina-san. No wonder I love you."  
  
Kuwabara was saved from death (courtesy of Hiei) by the arrival of Kia, who was approaching the porch.  
  
"Hey, guys," she greeted them. "What's going on?"  
  
"Um," said Yusuke.  
  
"The weather!" Botan said quickly. "We...were talking about the weather!"  
  
"Isn't it beautiful?" Keiko added, just as Suzuki said, "Looks like rain." They stared at each other for a moment.  
  
"Yes...rain..." Kuwabara agreed. "Rain is beautiful. Just like my Yukina-san."  
  
They all laughed nervously, with the exception of Hiei (who was still glaring at Kuwabara and trying to decide whether to cut off an arm or a leg first) and Yukina (who didn't understand why everyone was acting so strangely).  
  
"So...what're you up to?" Keiko asked Kia, who was staring at them oddly.  
  
"I'm off to take a shower...my hair needs washing."  
  
"DON'T HOG ALL THE HOT WATER!" Kelsey yelled from across the grass. "I'M NEXT!"  
  
Kia grinned and went inside.  
  
"Hmm...this could work out very nicely..." Yusuke began to formulate a plan. Actually, he'd already put a different plan in action.  
  
***Flashback to that Morning...***  
  
"Hey, Shishi!" Yusuke called to the youkai. "See if there's any towels in the girls' bathroom, will ya? We're all out!"  
  
"Do it yourself," Shishiwakamaru snapped, polishing his sword.  
  
"I'm a little...BARE here!" Yusuke replied from his room. "Unless you want to see me in all my wondrous glory-"  
  
The blue-haired youkai quickly put down his sword and ran into the bathroom that Kia and Kelsey shared, in order to avoid hearing (or seeing) Yusuke. He rummaged in the cupboards under the sink, and then through the towel cabinet. Finding one (he'd chosen a pale pink one just to get back at Yusuke), he started to straighten up-than found himself being shoved roughly into the cabinet. The doors slammed shut and, peering through a crack in the wood, Shishiwakamaru saw Yusuke (fully clothed) draw the bolt through the latch, locking the cabinet.  
  
"Urameshi, I'm going to-"  
  
"Thank me for this later." Yusuke grinned. "Don't make too much noise, my fine blue-haired fellow. The girls won't take it too well if they find you in their bathroom." He turned off the light and left, whistling cheerfully.  
  
***End Flashback***  
  
*OOC*  
  
I wonder why Yusuke did that...could it have something to do with Kelsey? And what other plan has he come up with for Jin and Kia? ^.^ I was going to write it in this chapter, but it'd be too long, so next chapter, which I may have up in the same day anyway. So...review!  
  
Next Chapter...  
  
* When Yusuke tricks Jin into being in the wrong place at the wrong time, how will Kia react? All I can say is "Poor Jin"...which is what you may be saying too by the next chapter. And when Shishiwakamaru is finally freed from his prison...who wants to guess KELSEY'S reaction?  
  
* The arrival of a new evil person and a few new allies as well! 


	9. Bathroom Incident and New Arrivals

Oh, ack...I made a mistake. Kia's full name is Satsukiame, not Satsukiasame. Don't mind me, my spelling tends to get mixed up sometime. And it took me longer to write this chapter than I expected, so gomen, minna-san!  
  
ANYWAY. In this chapter, you'll be introduced to Mikage and Zyoshi! I do not own either of them, but their owners asked for their characters to be in this, so...*shrugs* there you go. So...now we get to figure out what the hell Yusuke has come up with! Tally-ho, my good comrades!  
  
Jin: *eyes Kia oddly*  
  
Kia: *sighs* You have no imagination.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Jin awoke from his deep slumber and blinked blearily, covering his mouth to keep a yawn from emerging.   
  
"Must've slept in," he mumbled, glancing over at Touya, who was still sleeping. "Maybe some hot water will wake me up."  
  
Stepping out of his room (only managing to run into the door once), he shuffled towards the bathroom. Left...or was it right...  
  
"Jin!" Yusuke, who had just come in from the porch, ran forward. "You're heading for the wrong bathroom! You were about to go in the girls' bathroom and Kia's showering in there!"  
  
"Wrong b-b-bathroom?" Jin asked, fighting another yawn.  
  
The boy nodded. "Left is for men, remember?"  
  
Jin nodded slowly and shuffled into the bathroom. He heard someone showering, but didn't really pay attention to it. He approached the sink, turned on the faucet, and threw some water onto his face. As he reached for a towel to dry it, something on the sink counter caught his attention. It was a small bottle of perfume.  
  
*Perfume? Nobody uses that...*  
  
Suddenly, it hit him. Hadn't Suzuki said LEFT was for ladies? Then the person in the shower must be...  
  
The water stopped and a slim hand reached out from behind the curtain to grab a fluffy green towel off the rack near the shower.  
  
*Oh, no...* Jin started to inch towards the door. He froze as Kia stepped out of the shower and onto the white rug, the towel wrapped securely around her slender form, and her brown hair damp from her wash. By some odd miracle, she hadn't spotted him yet. Sighing, the girl opened a drawer and pulled out a brush, running it through her hair in an attempt to untangle it. "I need a comb..." she muttered.  
  
Jin had one hand on the doorknob, ready to flee. She need never know she was here...  
  
At that precise moment, Shishiwakamaru banged on the wood from inside the towel cabinet. Hearing the noise, Kia turned-and saw Jin.  
  
*Please don't scream, please don't scream, please don't--*  
  
Touya was awakened very rudely.  
  
"EEEEEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"  
  
Kurama looked up from his book, frowning slightly. There were several thumps and crashes and now the listeners could catch a few words.  
  
"Jin, you PERVERT! GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT, YOU BAKA!!!!" Another loud crash.  
  
Jin practically flew through the house, trying to dodge bars of soaps, toothbrush holders, and other projectiles that Kia was hurling at him. He had to admit, the girl had incredible aim when she was angry.  
  
Everybody rushed into the living room, just as Kia pegged Jin on his right ear with a soap dish.  
  
"I'm telling you, it was an accident!" Jin yelped as a balled-up washcloth bounced off his head and landed on Kurama's book. "Ouch!"  
  
"That was your LAST excuse!" Kia snarled, closing in on him.  
  
"I'm SERIOUS! Urameshi told me that left was for men, and I was still half-asleep-" Jin grabbed her wrist as she raised her arm to chuck a toothbrush at his eye, "Kia, LISTEN to me for a moment! After I promised you, you know I'd never deliberately walk in on you..." He was blushing again. He could feel the heat in his face rising. He wouldn't be surprised if he started to whistle like a teakettle and steam poured out of his ears.  
  
The girl stared at him for a very long moment, as if she were judging him. Finally, her eyes softened and she stepped back slightly. "I know."  
  
"Good." Jin smiled at her.  
  
"Um...Jin?"  
  
"Hai?"  
  
"You can release my wrist now."  
  
"Gomen!" He dropped her wrist quickly, color blazing on his entire face.  
  
"So no more guys in there, then?" Kelsey piped up.  
  
Kia shook her head. "Bathroom's all yours."  
  
"Good. Uh...Kia..." Kelsey pointed to her. "You might want to change."  
  
The girl glanced down at herself. She'd forgotten that she was only wearing a towel! She also became painfully aware of the fact that every single male in the room was staring at her.  
  
"If you don't stop ogling me like a bunch of goldfish," she said evenly, "I'm going to use each and every one of you for target practice to break in my new elemental arrows. You know, the kind that BURN?" They quickly looked away, and Kia looked at Yusuke. "And as for you, Urameshi, I have a toilet plunger with your name on it." Yusuke met her gaze briefly, then turned away. Kia allowed herself a faint smile, then walked out of the room and into hers, closing the door.  
  
"Yeah, Urameshi, that went reeeealll well," Kuwabara said in the silence that followed.  
  
Yusuke glared at him.   
  
Back to Shishiwakamaru...  
  
"KIIIIIIAAAAAAA! Where're the towels?" Kelsey yelled, looking at the empty rack.  
  
"In the cabinet!" came a faint reply.  
  
Shishiwakamaru cursed silently. He'd gotten lucky that Kia hadn't found him, but if Kelsey opened the door...he quickly pushed himself as far back as he could, trying to hide amongst the towels.  
  
"That's weird...it's locked." Frowning, Kelsey undid the bolt and opened the door. She reached for a towel...and caught hold of Shishiwakamaru's hair. She paused for a moment. "What the..." Backing up slightly, she pulled. The samurai fell out of the cabinet and landed in a heap at her feet.   
  
Kelsey stared at him in disbelief. "What the hell are you doing?"  
  
"Uh...I suppose you wouldn't believe me if I told you that Urameshi locked me in?"  
  
Kurama had barely turned a page of his book, when there was another outburst.  
  
"CHIKAN! PERVERTIDO! PERVERT! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY BATHROOM, YOU BLUE-HAIRED PERVERTED BAKA BASTARD!!!!"  
  
Yusuke looked up, then sweatdropped. "Shimatta, I forgot he was still in there..."  
  
Touya and Jin both looked at him.  
  
"Yet another romance scheme bungled by Yusuke Urameshi," Hiei said calmly. "You're two for two now. Why not try to pair Kuwabara with a dog? That'd probably work out better."  
  
"OK, YOU'RE GOING DOWN, SHORTY!" Kuwabara lunged for Hiei, who pulled out his katana.  
  
"I can't believe this. I'm on vacation for THREE weeks and I come back to see you two at it again. Hasn't ANYTHING changed?"  
  
Everyone looked up to see a girl about Yusuke's age standing by a bookcase. Her blonde hair was cut just at her jawline and curling slightly, as she studied them with bright green eyes. She wore a red T-shirt and khaki capris.  
  
"Mikage!" Botan hurried over to her. "Oh, good, you got my message!"  
  
"Hai." The girl nodded. "Took me awhile to find this place, though. So what's this I hear about new girls?"  
  
Right on cue, the door opened and Kia stepped out, now wearing a purple hooded sweatshirt and black cords. She glanced at the newcomer curiously.  
  
"Mikage, this is-" Botan began, but was cut off when the bathroom door opened and Shishiwakamaru collapsed on the carpet near Kia's feet. She sighed and knelt. "I TOLD you to stop stalking her."  
  
His only response was a stream of grumbles and moans.  
  
Kelsey stepped out about twenty minutes later, wearing a red sweater over a green shirt and jeans. Her own blonde hair was still wet.  
  
"Try this again?" Mikage said dryly to Botan.  
  
The ferrygirl nodded, flustered. "Mikage, this is Satsukiame Aori-"  
  
"Kia," everyone in the room (except for Mikage and Shishiwakamaru) chorused.  
  
Kia grinned. "I've taught you well."  
  
"And this is Kelsey," Botan continued, indicating the blonde girl who was eyeing Mikage warily.  
  
"Oh, so you're the two I've heard so much about." Mikage bowed gracefully. Kia bowed in return, and Kelsey nodded.   
  
"Someone please tell me what's going on?" Kia asked pleadingly, stepping carefully over Shishiwakamaru, who was still lying on the floor, stretched-out.  
  
"This is Mikage Shisou." Kurama put down his book with a sigh. "She's a friend of the Tantei, and a valuable ally."  
  
Mikage flushed slightly. "I do what I can..." she mumbled.  
  
"Anyway," Kurama said, smiling, "She's been away on vacation for awhile and life has been...quite dull without you, Mikage-san."   
  
"Dull?" Yusuke protested. "You call trying to protect two girls, both with attitude problems, DULL?"  
  
"What's that about attitude problems, Yusuke?" Kia asked sweetly, while Kelsey folded her arms and glared at him with cold gray eyes. "I don't recall asking you to lock Shishiwakamaru in the towel cabinet or to trick Jin into walking in on me. So if we're just a LITTLE bit unhappy with that, so sorry."  
  
Mikage raised her eyebrows slightly. "Well, well, certainly not dull." She turned to Yusuke. "Koenma-sama said that you needed more help...of a feminine nature, since you were sure to bungle it. So...here I am."  
  
"Here you are," Hiei agreed sourly.  
  
The girl chose to ignore him, and looked at Kia and Kelsey. "So you two have the Mirror halves?"  
  
They nodded. "Trust me, it's not fun," Kelsey grumbled.   
  
"I understand. I don't suppose I would have much fun either, with a bunch of youkai pursuing me." Mikage gave her head a little shake. "Oh, I just remembered..."  
  
"Hai?" Touya blinked at her.  
  
"There's...a pretty strong...knows that the Mirror is here somewhere..." Mikage seemed to be having trouble finding words to describe this. "Let me just say her name is Netami."  
  
A sudden hush fell on the group.  
  
"Who?" Kelsey asked, confused.  
  
"Netami," Suzuki told her. "She's a powerful youkai, who has this odd ability to control any male and harness dark electricity. Not to mention she's on Koenma's Ten Most Wanted. After she nearly destroyed Reikai and Makai, she was driven away by the Mirror. But in her rage at being contained, she shattered it with a dark spell, and Ashita, the Creator of the Densetsu no Kagami..."  
  
"...was forced to hide the halves away, so that in time, they could be brought together again and defeat Netami," Mikage finished. "Unless, of course, she gets the Mirror first and uses it to HER advantage...unimaginable power would be at the tips of her six-inch black fingernails."   
  
"Oh." Kia sat down suddenly on the sofa. "So basically, this evil lady wants to kill us."  
  
"Basically," Touya agreed.  
  
"Oh, great."   
  
"I don't know about you guys, but I refuse to die," Kelsey told them. "So I say we hunt down this Netami person, beat her up, and live happily ever after."  
  
Hiei stared at her. "You live in your own little ideal world, don't you?"  
  
Kelsey was unruffled. "Doesn't everybody?"  
  
Keiko giggled, and Mikage hid a smile with her hand.  
  
"It's not as simple as that, I'm afraid," Kurama said gently. "In case you haven't noticed, all but six in this room are male. Suppose she controlled us to come after you and try to kill you?"  
  
Botan gasped, Keiko ran into Yusuke's arms for comfort, Yukina gave a small squeak and eyed Kuwabara apprehensively, Kelsey scowled, Mikage gave a quiet sigh, and Kia turned pale. "Shimatta..."  
  
"Anything we can do?" Shishiwakamaru asked, lifting his head from the floor to fix his gaze on Mikage.  
  
She sighed again. "Well, the only thing you CAN do is find Ashita. They need to find out what the Mirror can do and why so many are after it. It's only fair."  
  
"Okay!" Jin grinned. "Let's go find Ashita, then!"  
  
"You can't."  
  
Everybody stared at Mikage. "What NOW?" Yusuke asked, exasperated.  
  
"Two things. One, I have no idea where Ashita lives. Two, only Kia and Kelsey and go."  
  
This was met by a large chorus of protests.  
  
"Now, wait a minute!"  
  
"They can't go by themselves!"  
  
"It's too dangerous!"  
  
"What, and you think YOU going along would help, KuwaBAKA?"  
  
"He's quite right. It's much too dangerous for them to venture out on their own."  
  
"What with all those youkai after them..."  
  
"Can't SOME of us go?"  
  
"Kelsey will be fine. SHE has a warrior's spirit. KIA, on the other hand..."  
  
"Oh, not THAT again, Shishi!"  
  
Through it all, both Kelsey and Kia had sat quietly. Finally, they both rose and headed for the door.  
  
Kuwabara spotted them. "Where are you going?"  
  
"To find Ashita," Kia answered calmly.  
  
"By ourselves," Kelsey added.  
  
"Without any help from you," they said in unison.  
  
Kelsey opened the door, and they stepped out. Then stepped back in again.  
  
"Another friend?" Kia asked tiredly, as someone else walked in behind them. Another girl, slightly shorter (about Hiei's height), with dark purple hair, silver highlighted in her tresses. Her eyes were basically the same color, and most in the room found it hard to hold her solemn gaze.  
  
Mikage frowned slightly. "I don't know this one." She turned to the others. "Do you?" When they shook their heads, she focused her green eyes on the newcomer's own violet ones.  
  
The girl spoke up. "That won't be necessary. There is no need to try and read my mind, as I am not your enemy."  
  
"Hey, Hiei, she's just as mysterious as you are," Yusuke joked to his short companion.  
  
"Hn." The Jaganshi stared at her. "Then why are you here?"  
  
"Well, at least YOU know better than to read my mind," the girl said, obviously placated. "My name is Zyoshi, but everyone calls me Z. I know where Ashita lives and I can take you to her." The last part she addressed to the two girls, still standing by the open door. "But not for two days."  
  
"Why?" Kelsey asked, nettled. "What now?"  
  
Z turned her gaze outside. "It's going to rain tonight, and your visitors will arrive by tomorrow."  
  
*OOC*  
  
Hehe, the plot thickens...who, exactly, IS Zyoshi? And why is she helping out?   
  
Yusuke: That's a good question...  
  
Kia: *looks at him* Oh, yes...MR. TOILET PLUNGERRRRR! *grabs toilet plunger and chases after Yusuke* Kindly review, my lovely reviewers! ^^  
  
Next Chapter...  
  
* The "visitors" arrive. Who ARE they?  
  
* The group encounters Netami's "pet"...a very big, evil-looking seagull named Loki. Run, little ones, run...  
  
* Kia and Kelsey get started on their journey to Ashita. 


	10. Of Drunk Youkais and Giant Seagulls

Well, I think I'm on Chapter 10 now. I'd like to try and get 50 reviews by Chapter 12. Key word TRY. So, if you will kindly tell your buddies about this fanfic, I will be grateful. Every little review counts! Unless it's something like "Hey, isn't Kia the name of a car?" Then I will slap you with my Schoolbag of DOOM (Note the caps, people!)  
  
Please note that I still need that male assistant of Ashita's. Once again, the ONLY people in this chapter that I own personally are Kia and Loki. Ok, well, Loki's not exactly a person...*sweatdrops*Zyoshi, Kelsey, and Mikage are owned by themselves, respectfully.   
  
Jin: ....You're babbling.  
  
Kia: I'll shut up now.  
  
Yusuke: Whoo!  
  
Kia: Shut up, Plunger Head! I'm STILL mad at you!  
  
Yusuke: *sidles away*  
  
^.^ Yes, well...this is a rather long note, gomen! When we last left off, Kia and Kelsey were fit to be tied. Get better locks on that bathroom, girls! Also, two strangers showed up, except one didn't turn out to be that much of a stranger. And let's get back to the story, shall we minna-san?  
  
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"When is it gonna stooop?" Kelsey moaned, looking out the window at the steadily pouring rain. Her head was propped up on her arms, which rested on the windowsill.  
  
"It's summer, Kelsey," Kia said wearily. "We need the rain."  
  
"But we're never going to get to leave." The girl sighed unhappily.  
  
"You must wait one more day," Z told them patiently as she sat cross-legged on the floor, playing patty-cake with Puu, Yusuke's penguin-like Spirit Beast.  
  
Mikage, who was curled up in the armchair that Kurama usually read in, shivered. She made a small gesture with her left hand at the fireplace, and the logs there burst into flame.  
  
"You start fires," Kia said mildly.  
  
"Hai." Mikage nodded. "And I use telepathy."  
  
"That must come in handy," Kelsey remarked.  
  
The fire youkai (as they had found out that Mikage was) grinned. "It does."  
  
Suddenly, Z looked up, glancing at the door. "And here we go...someone answer it?"  
  
"But nobody knocked!" Protested Kelsey. Kia shrugged and went to the front door. She turned the knob and pulled it open-and a bedraggled little boy with three pink stars tattooed under his left eye, and messy brown hair almost fell in. He wore blue jeans and a yellow long-sleeved shirt, with a pink sleeveless vest covering it.  
  
"Chuu...Chuu...Chuu...!" He panted, looking up at the girls desperately.  
  
"Stop imitating a train and tell us already!" Kelsey snapped, her patience thin today.  
  
Kia gave her friend a reproachful look. "Calm down," she told the anxious child. "Now try that again...slowly this time."  
  
"Chuu...stuck in...a tree..."  
  
Mikage suddenly came to life. "Chuu? That drunk fighter?"  
  
The boy nodded.  
  
"Which means you must be Rinku!"  
  
He nodded again.  
  
"More youkai," Kia said quietly. "I should've known...so what's this about a drunk guy in a tree?"  
  
"Portal...to Ningenkai...opened in tree...Chuu got stuck...couldn't untangle him..." Rinku was practically hyperventilating, and Kia finally had to shake him slightly to get him to breathe.  
  
With Kia patiently prompting him, the girls learned that Chuu had been too drunk to free himself and the spectacular thunder and lightning display outside wasn't helping at all.  
  
Drawn by Rinku's voice, everyone else appeared and Z relayed Rinku's story.  
  
Yusuke grimaced. "I'll go get him."  
  
"WE'LL go get him," Kurama interjected. "As he's under the influence of Makai alcohol, I think this shall require everyone's help."  
  
"I'll go too!" Kelsey said eagerly.  
  
"EXCEPT you four."  
  
Four pairs of shock-filled eyes, one brown, one gray, one violet, and one green stared fixedly at the Youko.  
  
"Why not?" Kelsey demanded.  
  
"I can see why Kia and Kelsey wouldn't be allowed to go, but why not us?" Z added, somewhat angrily.  
  
"I don't," muttered Kelsey.  
  
Kia and Mikage didn't say anything, but it was obvious from the looks on their faces that they were unhappy about Kurama's decision.  
  
The slim redhead frowned, regarding them with his emerald gaze. "At this very moment, Netami is searching for the Mirror. Kelsey and Kia, you two are in the most danger and I don't think it is wise for you two to venture outside just yet. We'll be too distracted trying to free Chuu, and you will be vulnerable."  
  
Kelsey muttered something along the lines of "Who said we'd LET ourselves be vulnerable?"  
  
"And yet, you'll let us go looking for Ashita by ourselves," Kia said dryly.  
  
"We have no choice in the matter." Touya's electric-blue eyes were emotionless. "We are not allowed to accompany you."  
  
Kurama nodded in agreement then turned to Z. "You, Zyoshi-san, are the only one of us who knows where Ashita currently resides. Until you choose to depart that information, Netami will be seeking you too. What you know is valuable information that will aid us greatly...to her discomfort."  
  
Z gave an unhappy grumble and picked up Puu, refusing to look at anyone.  
  
"Mikage," Kurama continued.  
  
She looked up at him. Silence reigned for seven minutes, in which they both simply stared at each other.  
  
Kelsey and Kia exchanged puzzled glances. Suzuki merely smiled, Shishiwakamaru scowled, Touya still kept a face void of any feeling, and Jin looked blank. Yusuke, Hiei, and Kuwabara shared knowing smiles.  
  
Mikage abruptly turned red and stared at Kurama as if he had suddenly sprouted purple cabbages from his ears. Then she nodded. "I understand," she said softly.  
  
"Well, let's go then." Shishiwakamaru headed for the still-open door.  
  
Kurama glanced back at the girls as the others followed the samurai. Kelsey had returned to staring out the window, still glaring fiercely at the raindrops. Z was now squeezing Puu so tightly that he let out a garble "Puuuuu!" and struggled to escape her tight hold. Mikage faced the fireplace, focusing on the blazing fire within. Kia was the only one who met his gaze, but then she looked away and down at Rinku, who had fallen asleep in her arms. She was perched next to Kelsey on the window seat.  
  
"Try not to get yourselves killed while we're gone," was Hiei's parting comment.  
  
"I could say the same for you," Z countered. They smirked at each other.  
  
The males left, with the exception of Rinku. The four girls sat for awhile, each lost in her own thoughts.  
  
"What was with that staring contest between you and Kurama, Mikage?" Kelsey asked suddenly, raising herself off of her arms and glancing at the girl.  
  
"You're telepathic!" Kia remembered. "So you didn't have to speak out loud. But I didn't know Kurama was..."  
  
Mikage smiled slightly. "He was the one who taught me."  
  
"So, what'd he say that made your face redder than one of his roses?" Z looked at the girl intently.  
  
"Nothing important..." Mikage mumbled, now engrossed in staring at the white carpet.  
  
The other three glanced at each other. Kia looked at Mikage and something she read in the fire youkai's face made her brown eyes widen. "You LIKE him!"  
  
Instantly, Kelsey and Z stared at Mikage. She started tracing complex patterns into the carpet with her index finger.  
  
"You like Kurama?" Kelsey whispered, just as wide-eyed as her friend.  
  
"Umm..." Mikage coughed, a totally false sound that didn't fool any of them. She met their probing eyes, then sighed. "Yes."  
  
"Finally! There could finally be a matchmaking scheme that DOESN'T have to do with us!" Kia gave a relieved sigh. Rinku sighed in response, and slept on.  
  
"And what about YOU, Z?" Kelsey's head swiveled to fix on the hanyou. "Anybody you're interested in?"  
  
Z returned her stare calmly. "I've only just met everybody. Out of those who aren't claimed..."  
  
Kia looked at her, perplexed. "Meaning...?"  
  
"Touya, Suzuki, and Hiei..."  
  
"You forgot Shishiwakamaru and Jin," Kelsey pointed out.  
  
"And Kurama," added Mikage.  
  
"No I haven't. They've all been claimed. Or, should I say, they've done the claiming."  
  
"No," Kia said flatly. "Z, you'd better not-"  
  
"Jin cares for you, Kia, whether you choose to ignore the signs or not. Someday, you'll realize that." Ignoring Kia's vehement shakes of denial, the purple-haired girl smiled at Kelsey. "And Shishiwakamaru does indeed have feelings for you, Kelsey."  
  
"Like we need proof of THAT," Kia remarked, glancing over at the blonde. She didn't want to think about Jin right now.  
  
"And as for you, Mikage..." Z turned to the fire youkai. "I believe you've known Kurama longer than any of us in this room. And he also cares for you." She smirked. "You can't try to read my mind without exposing some of your own thoughts in return."  
  
Mikage stared at the flames crackling fiercely in front of her and did not reply.  
  
"So you'll just have to-" Z suddenly broke off, wincing. Kelsey and Kia both frowned. They could sense something...something not human at all...in fact, more avian...  
  
It was Mikage who reacted first. "Get down!" she screamed, flinging herself to the floor. The others followed suit, just as the window exploded with a loud CRASH and glass shards showered everywhere.   
  
Kia rolled to one side and caught a glimpse of a beady black eye, just as a giant red-tipped orange beak struck at the place where she had just been. The girl yelped and scrambled to her feet, to come face-to-beak with the creature.  
  
"It...it...it's a SEAGULL!" Mikage whispered, stunned.  
  
"How did a seagull get that BIG?" Kia asked, as she backed up nervously. The damn bird was larger than the bookcase!  
  
"Genetic mutation?" Was Kelsey's contribution.  
  
"Move." Z leapt out of the way as the seagull spread its wings (knocking over several glass vases and the bookcase) and dove for them. Kia realized (with a sinking feeling) that they were about the size of fish or some other edible tidbit that seagulls enjoyed...at least, to the seagull.  
  
"Ok, time to roast the birdie..." Kelsey's palm started to glow green as she summoned her reiki. A flicker of emerald flames appeared.  
  
"NO!" Z swatted at her hand frantically. "Don't use any of your power!"  
  
"Nani?" Kelsey stared at her. "Why not?"  
  
"I just recognized that bird." Z swallowed. "That's Loki...Netami's...pet."  
  
"Why couldn't she have had sea monkeys or something?" Kia cried, frantically trying to dodge the bird's sharp beak. "They're SAFE!"  
  
"Evil people never have sea monkeys," Mikage replied, scooting back as Loki spread his wings again. "It's rule number Twenty-three in their book."  
  
"Someone's well-read!" Kelsey snapped. "So I can't attack?"  
  
"Neither can Kia. Not with your powers, at least. Netami knows that the Mirror resides in two of us in this room, but she doesn't know WHICH two! However, if you use your reiki, she'll sense it!" Z said urgently.  
  
"Okay..." Kia said slowly, as the seagull turned his head slowly, orienting on the girls, who had gathered in a group, Z STILL holding Puu. "But what about PHYSICAL attacks?"  
  
"Well...I think those would be all right..." Z replied slowly.  
  
"Good." The seagull struck a third time. This time, Kia leapt up, and unfurled her right foot in the air, kicking Loki's beak. With a squawk of pain, the bird lunged for her. Kelsey drew her sword and smacked the beak with the flat side. Loki's shriek was louder and more furious this time. He began to beat his wings strongly and the girls were pushed back against the opposite wall. More vases fell and broke and they all ducked as books and candles came flying their way.  
  
"SET IT ON FIRE!" Kelsey screamed to Mikage, trying to make her voice heard over the wind.  
  
The girl nodded grimly and gestured at the seagull. His wings burst into flame. Still, he kept pumping them. The flames grew and then the seagull folded his wings and shot for the four of them. Mikage cried out when the flaming seagull struck and slammed into the bricks above the fireplace. She slumped to the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from a cut over her right eye.  
  
"MIKAGE!" Kia started for her, but Loki wasn't finished. He grabbed Z up in his beak and shook her violently. The hanyou grimaced in pain, fighting to free herself and shield her body from the flames.  
  
"Kia, we've got to." Kelsey's voice was firm.  
  
"But...if we..." Kia trailed off, looking at Mikage, motionless on the carpet, then at Z who was losing the battle to live. Her mouth tightened and she nodded.  
  
"HEY, BIRDIE!"  
  
Loki looked down.  
  
"WE'RE the ones you want!" Kia yelled. "Come and get us, you over-roasted turkey!" The two girls stood side by side, Kelsey with her sword wreathed in green flames, and Kia with her rei arrow set on the string and pointed directly at the seagull. A split second later, Kelsey charged the bird and sank her sword into his breast, just as Kia released her arrow. It struck his eye, lodged itself in, and caught fire.  
  
Howling in fury and trying to brush the flaming arrow from his bleeding eye, Loki dropped Z, who fell heavily on the floor. His uninjured eye glowed red...and then the seagull disappeared.  
  
"Well, that's that..." Kelsey looked up at Puu, who was hovering nervously near the ceiling, squeaking in distress.  
  
"She knows now," Kia agreed, propping up Mikage, who groaned softly. "But if we hadn't done something..." Her voice caught. "Who knows what would've happened."  
  
Kelsey blinked. "Hey, look at Rinku."  
  
Kia looked over at the youkai, then hurried over to him. He was buried under a stack of books dislodged from the shelves. Hauling him out, she looked closely at him...then started to grin.  
  
Rinku was still fast asleep. He hadn't woken up at all during the fight with Loki, the giant killer seagull.  
  
Kelsey let out a snort of laughter. Kia tried, but she couldn't hold in the giggles, and soon both girls were laughing like maniacs, both so relieved that they were all alive!   
  
That was how Yusuke and the others found them. Kia was putting some antiseptic on Mikage's cut, and Kelsey was rousing Z. Rinku was snoring away on a chair, and Puu landed on Yusuke's head, relieved that he now was safe from those crazy girls. Indeed, Kia and Kelsey were still laughing.  
  
"Glad to see you had fun," commented Suzuki.  
  
Kia's laughter increased. "FUN? You...have...NO...idea...do you?" She gasped for breath and glared at him. He blinked, taken aback by her quick change of mood.  
  
"Well, you couldn't've been THAT bored," Yusuke said. "WE weren't. We had a hell of a time trying to get THIS bum-" He jerked his thumb at the slumped over figure that Kurama was dragging to the fifth room- "Untangled."  
  
Kia merely pointed to the broken window. Then to the broken bookcase, the stack of books, the broken remains of the vases, and then, finally, to Mikage and Z. She didn't say a word.  
  
Kurama returned, staring at the mess puzzledly. Then his emerald eyes fell on Mikage, and they hardened. "What happened here?" He asked quietly.  
  
Kelsey stared at him just as coldly. "You left us here. A giant seagull attacked. Mikage got knocked out. Z almost got eaten. Netami knows where the Mirror halves are. And Rinku slept THROUGH THE WHOLE THING."  
  
Everyone stared at her incredulously. Then they looked at Kia, who closed the lid on the antiseptic tube and looked at them. She nodded.   
  
"This is bad," Suzuki said.  
  
Hiei snorted. "No kidding?"  
  
Chaos broke out. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei started arguing about what to do next. Kurama stood still, as if he had become a statue of ice, incapable of movement. Touya, Jin, and Shishiwakamaru discussed plans to keep the girls from Netami's grasp. Rinku finally woke up and rubbed his eyes. "What'd I miss? What'd I miss?"  
  
Mikage opened her eyes and touched her cut cautiously, wincing. Z sat up, checking herself for burns or bite marks. Then she looked at Kelsey and Kia. "You must leave now."  
  
The girls nodded. They couldn't stay here. They had to find Ashita as quickly as possible.  
  
"I can take you as far as the portal that leads to Makai," the hanyou said softly. "Then you are on your own."  
  
"Arigatou," Kia said, just as quietly. The two rose and followed Z towards the door.  
  
"Wait." They turned. Everyone in the room faced them.  
  
Mikage was the first to step forward. She hugged Kia, then Kelsey. "Watch out for that seagull, okay?" She asked, trying to smile.  
  
"We will," they promised in unison.  
  
Suzuki shook both girls' hands. "I know you can handle this," the blonde said, winking at them. "You were destined to."  
  
Touya and Hiei, neither much for sentimental moments, nodded curtly. Then Touya smiled. "I've taught you well, so I have no worries."  
  
  
  
Hiei allowed himself a tiny smile, then looked at Z. "Take care of yourself too," he said gruffly. Startled, the girl stared at him, but he had already turned away.  
  
Shishiwakamaru simply stared at Kia, and then moved toward Kelsey. The girl frowned. "If you hug or kiss me, I'll kill you."  
  
"Fair enough." He patted her on the shoulder, but his eyes were worried.  
  
Yusuke and Kuwabara also patted the girls on their shoulders, until Kia yelled that she was not a dog, so stop treating her like one.  
  
Kurama hugged them, and Kelsey allowed it this time. ("HE'S not in love with me," she confided to Kia later.) "You are to let us know if anything happens." They nodded.  
  
Jin shook Kelsey's hand, then paused at Kia. She smiled at him. "We'll be fine, Jin."  
  
"You'd better," the Wind Master informed her, smiling back. "Who else is going to hit me with cookie sheets, and then heal me?" He hugged her tightly for a moment, then released her.  
  
Kia, Kelsey, and Z looked at each other, then back at the group. Then they disappeared into the rainy night. Not a one of them was dry-eyed.  
  
*OOC*  
  
*sniffles* That was kinda sad...will Kia and Kelsey ever return? Provided, of course, they reach Ashita in time? What will await them when they return? Whoa, this was eight pages long...  
  
Next chapter...  
  
* Kelsey and Kia run into a bit of trouble in Makai...and what will happen when they finally meet Ashita, the creator of Densetsu no Kagami?  
  
* Netami sets a plan in action...can Mikage and Z stop her? 


	11. Welcome to Makai, home of gerbils

Arigatou, minna-san for your kind comments! Plus, you're helping me reach my goal of 50 reviews by Chapter 12 (hey, I can hope, right?) Hopefully, I won't have to keep going back and summarizing the last chapter, but I'll humor you. Rinku showed up, and the girls were rather unhappy when they were told that they'd have to stay inside. Big mistake. A giant seagull named Loki crashed through the window and attacked them. Kelsey and Kia drove them off, but in the process, they revealed themselves as the Mirror Holders. And so, Kia and Kelsey have set off to find Ashita, the Creator of the Mirror, with Z as their guide. Also...I only own three people in this chapter. I own Kia, Ashita, and Tsukai. ONLY THREE!  
  
Hiei: Stop whimpering.  
  
Kia: *glares at him* I'm not.  
  
Hiei: What do YOU call it, then?  
  
Kia: I call it...umm...umm...Taking inventory.  
  
Jin: o.o   
  
Kia: Heh...anyway, thank you all for the reviews! I must start Chapter 11 now! Yay!  
  
Kurama: *chuckles* So enthusiastic.  
  
Kia: *pokes him* Stop taking my author notage space, darn you!  
  
"Nice place," Kelsey remarked, glancing up at the reddish-brown sky overhead.  
  
"Well, this IS Makai..." Kia sighed. "Let's go find Ashita."  
  
"Sure. Any idea where she is?"  
  
"..." Kia sweatdropped. "Not a clue. Z only said that the dragon would take us..."  
  
***Flasback***  
  
Three figures ran in the darkness, pelted by rain.  
  
"Don't you think you're being a little too hard on Shishiwakamaru?" Kia called to Kelsey, heartily wishing that she was under an umbrella right now...or, at the very least, the rain would let up. It wasn't that she hated rain-she loved it- but the constant downpour from above made it hard for her to see more than five feet in front of her, and the icy water was slowly numbing her body.  
  
Kelsey pushed her wet bangs out of her eyes. "I'm not."  
  
"Oh?" Kia rolled her eyes, grateful for the darkness that hid the motion. "Wasn't it just two days ago that you were chasing him around the house with your sword, screaming, "Die, Shishi, die"?   
  
"..."  
  
"And weren't you the one that told Shishiwakamaru that you'd rather see him die than Loki, because the seagull had more taste than he did?" Z added, grinning.  
  
"I choose not to reply to any of those questions," the blonde girl said with as much dignity as she could. "I bite my thumb at you both."  
  
"Bite my..." Z looked at Kia, confused. The other girl laughed. "It was from an English play, Romeo and Juliet. Biting your thumb is basically a gesture of insult." She looked vaguely surprised. "I can't believe I remembered that."  
  
"Ha! It is because thou art a sirrah!" Kelsey said gleefully.  
  
"Thou...art...what?" Z seemed to become even more puzzled.  
  
"Never mind." Kia shook her head. "She's in a dramatic mood again."  
  
By the time they reached an abandoned children's playground, Kelsey and Kia were conversing rapidly in Spanish, and Z was ignoring them both, keeping an eye out for the entrance to Makai.  
  
"¿Kelsey, eres tu nervioso?" (Kelsey, are you nervous?)  
  
"¿Yo? ¿Nervioso? ¡Ha! Tomaré esa gaviota estúpida y la empujaré encima de Netami's-" (Me? Nervous? Ha! I'll take that stupid seagull and shove it up Netami's-)  
  
"Usted es espantoso yo, guerrero de Schoolbags." (You're frightening me, Warrior of Schoolbags.)  
  
"Demasiado malo, hoja de la galleta." (Too bad, Cookie Sheet.)   
  
"¡BASTANTES con las hojas malditas de la galleta!" (ENOUGH with the cookie sheets!)  
  
"We're here," Z interrupted with a hint of amusement in her voice.  
  
The two stopped squabbling and looked at her. "Where?" Kelsey said curiously, casting her gaze around to rest briefly on the rusted swing set, the broken seesaw, the sandbox filled with broken glass.  
  
"There." The hanyou pointed to the rickety old slide. Kia let out a small gasp as she saw a floating oval of bright green light hovering right over the top stair. "That's it?"  
  
"That's it," Z agreed. "You'd better hurry. It won't stay open for long."  
  
Kia and Kelsey cautiously climbed the stairs, then paused at the last one. Kia, who was one step below Kelsey, glanced down at their hanyou friend. "Arigatou, Z-chan..."  
  
"Hai, Arigatou," Kelsey added.  
  
Z nodded. "If all goes well, you should see me later. Good luck!"  
  
"You first," Kia told Kelsey. The girl nodded and leapt into the portal. The remaining one took a deep breath, then followed. Neither of them could have known or expected what was to await them when they returned.  
  
***End Flashback***  
  
"I don't see a dragon," Kelsey said calmly. "In fact, I don't see anything alive out here."   
  
A tumbleweed blew past.  
  
Kia stared at it. "Okay, it feels like we're in some really weird movie right now." She turned to Kelsey. "Now all we need is a bunch of evil things and we'll be just ducky."  
  
Kelsey looked past Kia, then choked on whatever she had been about to say. After a brief coughing fit, she pointed behind the girl. "You got your wish."  
  
Kia turned. She stared down at a group of little creatures that vaguely resembled gerbils. "Umm...they don't exactly look very evil."  
  
Her friend snorted. "Neither do you."  
  
"What's THAT supposed to mean?"  
  
"You tell me, Healer." Kelsey grinned, then mouthed "cookie sheet".  
  
The girl turned pink. "Kelseeeey....."   
  
"Hmmm...you're right. They DON'T look very evil." Kelsey knelt and poked the leader, a little white fellow with brown spots. "Hey there, fuzzy."  
  
The "gerbil" opened its mouth to reveal a set of very large and pointy teeth and snapped at Kelsey's hand. Fortunately, she yanked it back before it was separated from her arm. "What the hell was THAT?"  
  
"That was a gerbil with very dangerous teeth," Kia said helpfully, pulling Kelsey to her feet. "Just back away very slowly..."  
  
The two girls took a step back. Then another. The gerbils rose up in a giant wave of fur and teeth and bore down upon them.  
  
"Forget that, RUN!" Kia yelped. They sped off, with the creatures pursuing.  
  
"Can't...we...just...blast 'em?" Kelsey panted, glancing back. "They might be nutritious! Yummy, yummy!"  
  
"Anything with teeth that large is probably poisonous!" Kia retorted, swooping down and grabbing a rather large rock. She hurled it at the wave.  
  
A gerbil leapt up, grabbed the rock, and swallowed it.  
  
"Um?" Kia sweatdropped. "No normal gerbils!"  
  
"First seagulls, now gerbils!" Kelsey moaned, grabbing Kia's wrist and dragging her along as she sped up. "What's next-turkeys?"  
  
Hearing a loud roar, Kia risked a look back. "Kelsey."  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"Now you've done it."  
  
"Turkeys?"  
  
"No. Chickens."  
  
Kelsey almost fell. "You're kidding."  
  
"I wish I was," Kia said grimly. "Take a look."   
  
Kelsey obeyed. A flock of seven giant chickens (about Loki's size) was racing after them, stirring up clouds of dust. "Shimatta! We're gonna diiiieeeee!!"  
  
"Please tell me this is a bad dream..." the brown-haired girl looked faintly ill. "Why does this ALWAYS happen? Why not sea monkeys? SEA MONKEYS ARE NICE AND HARMLESS!"  
  
"There's your answer right there," Kelsey informed her. "Why sea monkeys, when you can instead have killer seagulls, vampire gerbils, and giant chickens?"  
  
"Silly me," she agreed, sweatdropping.  
  
Kelsey released Kia's wrist and turned around. "Let's just kill some of them."  
  
"Normally, I believe in protection for the animals..." Kia looked at the approaching attackers. "But, in this case, I'll make an exception."  
  
"Right!" Kelsey said cheerfully. "Besides, chickens aren't an endangered species!" Grinning, she lifted her hands up over her head. The earth shook and Kia silently (and politely) asked the wind for assistance. It obliged and the gerbil wave was instantly sucked into a massive tornado, squealing angrily. The ground split, cracks undulating out from where the two girls stood. Four of the chickens fell into the earth, and then it closed.  
  
"Close enough," Kia told her friend and they set off again. The remaining chickens and about fifteen of the gerbils that hadn't been swept off to OZ pursued.  
  
"Can't...keep...running..." Kelsey gasped, as she developed a stitch in her side.  
  
"What else can we do?" Kia asked her, also gasping for breath.  
  
"Call for assistance?"  
  
"Oh, why not?" Kia took a deep breath. "HEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPP!!" She screamed.  
  
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, before either girl saw it coming, they had been caught up in a giant claw and were being borne upward.  
  
Kia inspected her claw. It was bright red, with several nicks on the skin. She glanced up at the owner of the claw. It turned out to be a humongous crimson dragon, who regarded them with golden cat-slitted pupils.  
  
"Out of the frying pan and into the fire..." Kelsey muttered. "Or is it the other way around..."  
  
"Oh, calm yourself, child. I'm not going to eat you."  
  
Startled, the two stared at him. "You talk!" Kia exclaimed.  
  
"Of course I talk. Ningens talk, youkai talk, why shouldn't I? My race is older than both of theirs anyway."  
  
"Gomen..." Kia muttered, chastened.  
  
"That's the better," the dragon said, mollified. "My name is Tsukai. I hope that you are Satsukiame and Kelsey."  
  
"That's us," Kelsey confirmed. "But...how do you know who we are?"  
  
"Ashita asked me to bring you and Satsukiame to her," Tsukai replied, ignoring the brown-haired girl's muttered correction of "Kia". "I hadn't been able to spot you...when I heard a very clear...and loud voice calling for help. You have a very good voice, little one," he told Kia admiringly. She muttered under her breath. Tsukai chuckled and pumped his wings vigorously, catching a thermal in the air and picking up speed. "To Ashita's, Mirror Holders!"  
  
Back in Ningenkai...  
  
"So they got through?" Kuwabara asked Z anxiously, as the girl sat tiredly on the couch, sipping a mug of hot chocolate and a blanket wrapped around her form.  
  
Z smiled. "They got through. They're in Makai now."  
  
"I hope they're all right..." Mikage whispered. "They've never left Ningenkai before."  
  
Kurama chuckled. "They'll be fine. We were worried when YOU first went to Makai, and you're still in one piece."  
  
"No thanks to Kuwabara," Hiei murmured. "That foolish baka almost got us killed."  
  
"Well, shapeshifters are a devilish breed," Touya said. "Small wonder that they confused him."  
  
"Posing as my Yukina-san..." Kuwabara gave an anguished moan of longing. "It was horrible."  
  
"And then there were those gerbils," Yusuke said slyly. Suzuki snickered. "GERBILS?" (oh, if you only knew, Suzuki-san...)  
  
Mikage blinked suddenly, then shivered. "There's that feeling again. Please..." She clutched Kurama's arm. "Don't leave...keep an eye out. There's something lurking...too close. I wish I could stay, but..."  
  
"You have to get back to Kari," Kurama finished for her, smiling kindly. "I understand, Mikage. You haven't returned to your little sister yet. Please don't worry about us."  
  
"I'll be here, in case something happens," Z added reassuringly. "The males need some female intuition and I'm willing to provide it!"  
  
The blonde girl smiled at her. "Arigatou, Z." She turned and left the house. But the feeling remained...*Something's going to happen to them...and Z and I are powerless to stop it...come back to us quickly, you two...*   
  
Somewhere...else...  
  
"Ah, yes...the little telepath suspects..." A long pale hand with even longer black fingernails moved lightly over a glowing purple orb. "I suspect it will soon be time to move in."  
  
*OOC*  
  
Wow. This is interesting. What is Netami planning? Why is Mikage worried? And what awaits Kia and Kelsey as Tsukai bears them to where Ashita awaits them? Poor Kia...can't get away from cookie sheets, even in a different language! Next chapter...  
  
* The girls FINALLY meet Ashita (took awhile, didn't it?). But what is the strange feeling they get from her assistant?  
  
* Both Kia and Kelsey find out some very interesting things about their pasts, their present...and their future.  
  
* Netami begins the first stage of her plan. 


	12. Ashita tells all

Heh heh heh... Well, I'm up to Chapter 12. *sigh* No 50 reviews...I try too hard. ANYWAY. A little late for this, but yuki-san, it really is Suzuki. They call him Suzuka in the American dub, but it's Suzuki in Japan. I'll be damned if I put dubbed names in here.   
  
I am very tired right now, but I shall make an effort to rouse myself. This story is almost over...well, I think it is. We're past the halfway mark now. Soo...you can tell me if you want a sequel...or you can simply wait until the end and let me know then. But...onward! I have Chapter Twelve to do!  
  
Kurama: Indeed you do.  
  
Suzuki: How could you be so heartless to do this to us, Kia?  
  
Kia: Umm...that's a good question. But it doesn't really affect you, Suzuki...  
  
Suzuki: All the same-  
  
Kia: Ssh. There are readers. They'll find out later. When we last left off, Kia and Kelsey had arrived in Makai...and been attacked by some very freaky gerbils and chickens...can you say, "radiation is BAD"? Luckily, they were saved by Tsukai, a dragon messenger who is now bringing them to Ashita...  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Over the rivers and through Makai, to Ashita's house we gooooo!" Kelsey sang.  
  
Kia cringed. "Please...no singing. I beg of you."  
  
"What? The great defender of cookie sheets DARES to beg?"  
  
"Kelsey..."  
  
"Is she always like this?" Tsukai questioned, twisting his sinuous neck slightly to peer down at his passengers.  
  
"Pretty much." Kia sighed. "But we're pretty much used to it."  
  
"Hey..." Kelsey stopped her song. "Remember that prophecy? You think Ashita could tell us about it?"  
  
Her friend looked thoughtful. "I hope so..." Upon returning to Yusuke's house, she had filled her pen pal in on everything that had happened...according to what Jin and Touya had told her.  
  
"Prophecy?" The great dragon sailed into the clouds, making both girls cry out in protest as they were dampened. "What prophecy?"  
  
Kia told it to him. Tsukai listened gravely, then twitched his tail. "Yes, I believe Ashita will be able to help you decipher that." He glanced down, although the girls could see nothing, and dove out of the clouds. "And we are approaching right now."  
  
Kelsey and Kia both followed his gaze. A small, cute-looking blue house was perched on a cliff edge, with a roaring ocean battering at the cliff. Thin wisps of pale blue smoke drifted from the chimney.   
  
Tsukai landed, carefully bringing his forepaws in front of him so as not to squash his burden. His wings folded neatly to his scaled sides, and the girls scrambled out of his claws. "Arigatou!" They said together, somewhat breathlessly. The dragon nodded and closed his eyes, rumbling with satisfaction at a job well done.  
  
As the two approached the house, a tiny panel near the top of the wooden door slid open. A pair of bright green eyes regarded them. "And who might you be?" A low voice questioned. It wasn't demanding, exactly, but the girls felt required to answer.   
  
"Kelsey," the blonde replied, for once serious.  
  
"Kia," the other added, then flushed. "I mean...Satsukiame, but everyone just calls me Kia."  
  
"Ah!" The eyes widened in comprehension. "I've been expecting you both. Come in, come in!" The panel closed with a small snap, and the door opened, revealing a white-haired woman who was taller than both of them. Her cheeks were pink and she bore few wrinkles. Only the hair, and the wisdom she donned like a regal cloak, spoke of her age. She wore a plain blue kimono, with a maroon one under that. Her obi was also maroon. Her eyes were blue.  
  
"Umm..." Kia said awkwardly, after trying not to stare at her eyes. "Was that you at the door? Your eyes..."  
  
The woman chuckled. "Gomen. My eyes change color constantly. I even forget what color they originally were." Indeed, as they looked back at her, her eyes had changed color again...this time to gray.  
  
"Oh..." Kia felt only a little less idiotic, and much more confused. "Are you..."  
  
"Ashita?" Her violet eyes twinkled merrily. "Hai. I am."  
  
"So will you-" Kelsey began, but then a tall, skinny young man came skidding into the room and halted, panting and glaring at the girls. His black hair was cut just below his ears and tied back into a small ponytail. His black eyes stared at them accusingly over the rims of his glasses.   
  
"You will show proper respect to the Mirror Creator! You will bow or kneel on the floor! You will stare at her feet when you address her! You will not address her by her name, but instead call her O Worthy One of Light! Is that understood?! How dare you be so disrespectful!"  
  
Stunned, they stared at him. Kelsey was struggling not to laugh, and Kia was avoiding his eyes, as if by ignoring him, he'd go away.  
  
"Now, now..." Ashita said calmly, laying a hand on the man's arm. He flinched, as if it had hurt him. "Girls, this is Yuichi Yumimoto. He is my assistant. Rather devoted to studying the Mirror, of course." She laughed lightly. "Yuichi, these two are Kelsey and Kia. The two Mirror Holders."  
  
An odd emotion flashed briefly through Yuichi's dark eyes, but it was fleeting, and had disappeared by the time Kia had noticed it. "You possess the two halves." They nodded. "The Healer and the Warrior." They nodded again. "I am honored to meet you." He turned stiffly on his heel and walked away, rather like a wound-up toy soldier. Kelsey let a giggle or two escape, before calming down.  
  
"Ashita...err...O Worthy One of Light..." Kia began. Ashita dismissed that with a careless wave of her left hand.   
  
"Please. Just call me Ashita. Yuichi just likes to act a little overbearing to newcomers..."  
  
"'Overbearing' is the understatement of the century," Kelsey muttered under her breath. Ashita merely smiled, and turned back to Kia.  
  
"You had a question, my dear?"  
  
"Tsukai said...you might be able to help...with the prophecy..."  
  
"Ah." Ashita's face became more serious. "Yuumei's prophecy. I should have known that it would come to pass all too soon. But then, when one has had a two hundred and fifty-three-year vacation, I suppose it is time to pay the piper."  
  
"Exactly...how old ARE you?" Kelsey ventured, not wanting to change the subject, but curious all the same.  
  
"One thousand, three hundred and twenty-one."  
  
They gaped at her. She shrugged. "I live a long life." Turning to face both of them, she sighed. "Recite for me the Prophecy." They obeyed. "'Summer rain will descend, and the children of earth and sky shall be united, under the creation of tomorrow, preventing the three worlds from harm.'...I see..." The woman started to chuckle. "Well, my dears, it's quite simple. Let's break it down in parts."  
  
"She reminds me of my old math teacher," Kia whispered to Kelsey. Her friend nodded emphatically.  
  
"I resent that." Ashita gave them a mock-reproachful look. "Let's begin. 'Summer rain'. This could mean two things. First off, it's summer in Ningenkai. And it's been raining frequently, has it not?"  
  
Kelsey nodded. "It was raining when we left."  
  
"And it will be raining when you return." Ignoring their curious stares, the creator went on. "Kia. What does your name mean?"  
  
"Well...in African, 'Kia' means 'season's beginnings'...and it's also the name of a car, and a phone, and a Swedish furniture store...sort of..."  
  
"That's Ikea," Kelsey reminded her. The girl grinned ruefully.  
  
"No, no, I mean your full name!" Ashita clarified.   
  
The brunette shrugged. "I really don't know...I never asked."  
  
"It means 'Summer rain'." Ashita settled back in a worn rocking chair, watching the expressions on the pair's faces.  
  
"But this prophecy is old!" Kia protested. "How could it possibly be referring to me?"  
  
"Next part. 'The children of earth and sky shall be united'. Kelsey." The girl looked at her, startled. "You are a Virgo. An earth element. You control earth. Kia. You are an Aquarius. An air element. You control the skies." Ashita winked. "Simple, ne?"  
  
"It's still old," Kia grumbled.  
  
"And the last part. 'United under the creation of tomorrow.'" The woman rocked slowly, a tranquil expression on her face. "My name, Ashita..."  
  
"Means tomorrow!" Kia exclaimed, catching on.  
  
"And your creation...you created the Densetsu no Kagami!" Kelsey added excitedly.  
  
"Correct. Therefore, the prophecy is basically saying that you two are to defeat Netami, with the help of the Mirror, of course. And Kia's arrival in Japan has triggered it."  
  
"How did Kelsey get here?" The brown-haired girl wondered. "And why were we the ones chosen to hold the halves?"  
  
Ashita smiled tiredly. "Kelsey was brought here, because I summoned her. The two Mirror Holders had to be brought together. For some reason that baffles me, but that I am grateful for, you two already knew each other. It is not very good if the ones who possess the Halves dislike each other." Her eyes (which were now brown) rested on them. "You were chosen to hold the halves because not only did you two have the qualities that the Mirror represents in overflowing quantity, but your pasts were important, your natures, and the fact that neither of you was perfect."  
  
The two stared at her. Kelsey voiced the question that both were thinking. "HUH?"  
  
"For example...the woman who prophesized this...was Kia's grandmother. Aiko was her mother. Kelsey also has some youkai in her, thanks to her own grandparents. Kelsey is courageous; she's proved that. Kia is compassionate, which has also been proven. And I didn't want perfect Holders. No raving beauties..."  
  
"Thanks," Kia said dryly.  
  
"No geniuses, not extremely graceful, not polite, not talented at everything..." Ashita grinned. "My reason was this: Netami was all of those things. If there was to be any hope of defeating her, the Mirror Holders had to be almost exact opposites...except the genders, of course. If you were like Netami, she would instantly nab you both and use you to her advantage. As it were, Kelsey, you have a very strong temper, which rules out politeness. Kia, you're not exactly graceful," (the girl made a face.) "...and you yourself don't always have the best attitude, as proven when you have showed a preference for a cookie sheet as a weapon."  
  
Kia turned pink. "Why doesn't anyone ever leave me alone about that?"  
  
The woman continued. "BUT. You both have good hearts. Neither of you has ever killed someone intentionally...or at all, for that matter. Kia was kindhearted enough to give advice to Shishiwakamaru, who normally loathes her..." Kelsey glanced at Kia, who was carefully avoiding her gaze and staring, instead, at her sneakers. "Kelsey saved Kia from being overwhelmed by the Zankoku, when all seemed lost...and you both acted to protect your friends from Loki."  
  
"Damn that seagull!" Kelsey growled.  
  
"And even if you aren't raving beauties, neither of you is ugly. Rather pretty, in fact. And you may not be geniuses, but you're both smart. And each of you has her own gifts and talents...not all of them." Ashita smiled. "As for your backgrounds...Aiko wasn't even pregnant with Kia when Yuumei had her prophecy...but prophecies have to be honored. Also, there was a dragon youkai by the name of Tanryoku. Kelsey's grandfather. Yes, the relatives of the two future Mirror Holders were there...but here, allow me to show you. Yuichi!"  
  
The sullen-faced young man appeared. "Hai."  
  
"If you would, please bring me the Teikan Bowl."  
  
Yuichi produced it, laid it on Ashita's knees, and retreated. The woman gestured Kelsey and Kia over, then gently blew on the surface of the shimmering silver liquid inside the bowl. It cleared, and the girls were soon able to make a picture out...the figures pictured within were moving and talking...like a movie. And they could hear it too.  
  
"Youko Kurama has broken into our village!" A tall blonde man with large white bird wings shouted, running into the cottage that Kia recognized from what Touya and Jin had described to her. "Yuumei, he is headed this way!"  
  
"Good," the woman replied calmly, kneading dough in a small wooden bowl. A young woman, no older than eighteen or nineteen, glanced worriedly at her as she sat at a table, working on repairing a kimono.   
  
"But, Yuumei! You and your daughter are in danger! You know that Kurama is ruthless!"  
  
"Let him come." Yuumei finished kneading the dough and dumped it onto a floury board. "I must speak with him."  
  
"Mother..." the young woman bit her lip. "What about your guest, Tanryoku? He should be arriving any minute!" Someone rapped politely on the door, although it had been left wide open from the man's frantic arrival. She groaned. "In fact, here he is now."  
  
A black-haired man, a little younger than Yuumei, walked in, bowing to the old woman and her daughter. He, too, had wings-but these were dragon wings, with no feathers, only scales. His eyes were gray, but also had the shape of a dragon's...cat-pupiled. "A greeting, Yuumei-san...I believe there is some sort of uproar occurring outside at the moment."  
  
"Kurama is here," Yuumei replied. "I suppose that IS cause for an uproar."  
  
"Yuumei, be serious! He'll kill you! He's just a thief-"  
  
"Pardon me, but I am more than that."  
  
The man turned and let out a squeak of dismay. Youko Kurama lounged against the doorframe, silvery tail flicking and golden eyes fixed on the occupants. "K...K...Kurama!"  
  
"That's my name," the Youko said lazily, leaning up and sauntering over to Yuumei, who stared at him patiently. "You must be Yuumei...the fortune-teller..." He yawned. "I would like my fortune told. Before you die."  
  
"Very well," the old woman agreed sagely. Her daughter frowned at her. It was if she'd already known about this...but then again, she WAS a psychic... "Mother..."  
  
"I know what I have agreed to, Aiko," Yuumei said quietly. "Everyone in this room must hear this, for it concerns all of you." She frowned at the blonde man. "Except for you. Go away, Kanja. Leave."  
  
The man bowed himself out. The door closed behind him.  
  
"Now, then." Yuumei smiled slightly. "Youko Kurama, your life will end soon...your life in Makai, that is. Your soul will be released and you will have a new life. Try to change your ways."  
  
"Are you threatening me?" Kurama demanded, his fox ears twitching in suppressed anger.  
  
"Not at all." The old woman's smile did not falter. "One day, your life will be saved...by the child carried within her." She pointed at Aiko, who gasped and accidentally pricked herself with the needle. She popped the wounded finger into her mouth and sucked on it quietly. "And your duty will be to someday guide that child...and the grandchild of Tanryoku..." She nodded at the dragon youkai, whose eyebrows raised slightly, "...Because they will one day be the ones to defeat her. She who seeks to bring all three worlds under her control."  
  
"But I'm not even pregnant!" Aiko protested, drawing the finger out of her mouth to speak. "I'm not even married!"  
  
Yuumei snorted. "I didn't say it would be SOON, Aiko! Patience. These things take time." She then gave the Prophecy. For a moment, all was still. Tanryoku looked thoughtful, Aiko looked ill, and even Youko Kurama seemed subdued.  
  
"Very well. I will let you live-for now." He turned and stalked out of the cottage.  
  
"Guard the children well," Yuumei instructed the other two. "I have a feeling that we won't be around to protect them as they grow."  
  
None of them noticed Kanja sneaking away from one of the windows. "Netami must hear of this..." he whispered.  
  
  
  
"So, there you have it."  
  
Startled, Kelsey and Kia drew their eyes from the picture, which had faded into silver luminescence again. "So that's what my mother meant when she told me that my parents would have been proud of me," Kia whispered.  
  
Ashita nodded. "Kanja was a spy for Netami. Netami attacked them. Kakushigei, Kia's father, was killed. Aiko, pregnant, and Yuumei were saved by Youko Kurama, of all people. Tanryoku and his wife were also killed, but his half-ningen son had fled to America and wed a ningen, who gave birth to Kelsey. Youko Kurama managed to keep Netami from killing Aiko, but he was killed by a hunter. His soul fled to Ningenkai, where it was reborn in the body of Shuiichi Minamino. About a year after that, Aiko gave birth to Satsukiame. Unfortunately, Netami soon killed her, and little Kia was also brought to America, where she was raised by a nice couple. Well, nice enough. Normal enough, I'd say. And Kia eventually ended up saving Kurama's life...when she was four. But that's another story. What's important now is that you know about the Mirrors, you know about your pasts, and now you know what you must do."  
  
"Find Netami and kick her ass?" Kelsey suggested hopefully.  
  
"Exactly." Ashita grinned. "I couldn't've said it better myself." She rose from her chair, setting the Teikan bowl on a coffee table. "But you're both tired. You can rest here tonight, and tomorrow, Tsukai will take you back. Mind you don't bother the sea monkeys." She gestured to a small glass bowl, where the creatures swam, and Kia was suddenly overcome by giggles. "Bad guys...don't...have...sea monkeys...only...the...good ones!"  
  
"There, there," Kelsey said, patting her friend on the back. "The sea monkeys aren't evil."  
  
"Yuichi!" At his name, the assistant appeared. "Hai."  
  
"Please show the girls to a suitable room. They'll be spending the night here."  
  
Again, there was that odd flash of emotion. "Follow me." Kia and Kelsey exchanged glances, then followed him. He led them to a rather nice room, with cheery yellow walls, a nice view of the ocean crashing against the rocks, and two large beds. "Sleep well." With that, he left, closing the door behind him.  
  
"Well, that was fun," Kelsey said, flopping on the bed closest to the window. "I'm slightly less confused than I was when we first arrived."  
  
"That's progress." Kia flopped onto the remaining bed and stared at the ceiling.  
  
"No tengo gusto de ese individuo de Yuichi." (I don't like that Yuichi guy.)  
  
"Yo ni unos ni otros. Él actúa extraño." (Me neither. He acts weird.)  
  
"Hágale tan." (So do you.)  
  
"¡No como ESO!" (Not like THAT!)  
  
Kelsey threw a pillow at Kia. "Maybe not, but still weird."  
  
Kia threw it back, whapping Kelsey on the head. "I'm not the one who tried to pet the gerbil!"  
  
"How was I supposed to know that it was Gerbicula?"  
  
"Don't ask me. I'm no genius."  
  
"Yeah, Ashita mentioned that, cookie sheet."  
  
"Don't call me that, Shishi-lover!"  
  
"Take that back!"  
  
"Never!"  
  
There soon ensued the pillow fight of the century.  
  
  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Yuichi walked into his room, a harsh contrast to the girls' sunny one. He walked over to a full-length mirror and tapped on it. "Netami-sama. The girls are here. Shall I kill them?"  
  
A chilly voice echoed from the glass. "No, not just yet, Yuichi...I would like to do that little task myself. Just send them back tomorrow. I do SO enjoy a challenge! I only hope they'll rise up to the occasion."  
  
"But what about the other two...the girls?"  
  
"The telepath is at her home. She knows nothing. As for the hanyou...Zyoshi...she's been...restrained. Just continue on with what you're doing."  
  
"Hai, Netami-sama."  
  
*OOC*  
  
Oh, no...what the heck is going on? Yuichi is a SPY for Netami? Just what has she done? Will Kelsey and Kia be able to thwart her plans and avoid disaster? You know they'll try! Stay tuned! Oh, and here's the meaning for some of the names I used in this chapter.  
  
Aiko-distinct.  
  
Yuumei-light/dark.  
  
Tanryoku-courage/nerve.  
  
Kanja- Spy.  
  
Kakushigei- Hidden talent.  
  
Teikan-Clear vision.  
  
Tsukai-Messenger.  
  
Next chapter...  
  
* Kelsey and Kia return home...but what awaits them?  
  
* Kia remembers what happened when she saved Kurama's life at four years old...  
  
* A rescue mission takes place! To save whom from what, I wonder?  
  
Please review! I really appreciate it! Oh, yeah, and really late disclaimer: I only own Kia, Ashita, Tsukai, and the above names with their meanings. Yes, I own the Teikan bowl. O.o Kelsey belongs to herself (I just RP her), and Yuichi came from an idea from DAY-san. Arigatou!! 


	13. Returning to Chaos

Ah, I love reviews...I shall never get enough with them. *sigh* Sadly, I did not reach 50...but that's okay! I can handle disappointment!  
  
Jin: ...*wordlessly holds out arms*   
  
Kia: *bursts into tears and runs into them* I feel so unloved!  
  
Jin: There, there...the readers love you.  
  
Shishiwakamaru: I don't.  
  
Kia: *glares at him* Well, I don't like you either. But, back to the story...when we LAST left Kelsey and Kia, they'd just arrived at Ashita's house. There they learned how they were chosen to be the Mirror Holders, their pasts, and so on and so forth. They also met Yuichi, Ashita's nasty assistant...who, it seems, is a spy for Netami! That bastard. So today, they get to go home! Yay!  
  
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She didn't know where she was. This dank corridor, lit only by some weakly-burning torches set in brackets along the walls, was unfamiliar. But up ahead...she had to reach it. There was her enemy...and, sure enough, she saw her foe, standing there, idly admiring the painted nails on her pale hands.   
  
She started forward. Oh, yes, she'd get some answers now...the woman smiled and opened her mouth.   
  
"Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey!"  
  
She frowned. Evil people didn't usually say things like that.  
  
"Good morning, good morning, good morning to you...good morning, good morning, and how do you do?"  
  
"KIA! WAKE UP!"  
  
Kia sat up with a gasp, startling Kelsey, who was sitting on the side of her bed. "Nani?!"  
  
"Took you long enough." The blonde girl bounced slightly. "I was about to sing something from Annie."  
  
"You're heartless." Kia pushed aside the covers and stood up. She'd slept in her clothes, because, unfortunately, no one had given her a list of "Things to Bring to Makai". "Are we going back now?"  
  
"Hai!" Kelsey grinned. "I was all for dragging you off while you were still sleeping, but Ashita said to wait until you woke up." She winked. "She didn't say until you woke up on your own."  
  
Kia groaned. "I DID mention how heartless you were, right?" The door slowly opened, and the kindly face of the Mirror Creator peered in. "Good morning! Sleep well?"  
  
"Hai..." the brunette cast a glare at her friend. "Until Miss Merry Sunshine burst into song."  
  
True to form, Kelsey belted it out. "Oh the scrambled eggs they serve us, they say will make us strong, my friend ate some this morning, they say she won't live long! Oh, I don't wanna go to girl scout camp!"  
  
Kia's pillow hit her on the mouth.  
  
"MMPH!" Kelsey spat out a few feathers. "You're in a cheerful mood today. Hit anyone with a cookie sheet lately?"  
  
The girl sighed. "God, you hit ONE Wind Master with a cookie sheet, and they never let you forget it..."  
  
Ashita chuckled. "Well, it's memorable, isn't it?" She gestured to the girls. "Tsukai is ready to take you home now."  
  
"Arigatou!" They chorused, hugging her, and then racing out to the waiting dragon.  
  
"Just remember!" the Creator called out, her eyes a dazzling shade of silver, "Remember what I said and kick Netami's ass!"  
  
"¡Ululación... ella dijo el "asno"!" (Wow...she said "ass!")  
  
Kia grinned. "¿Ese sorpresas usted?" (That surprises you?)  
  
Ashita smirked. "Quizás usted ambos quisiera que lo dijera en español también." (Perhaps you both would like me to say it in Spanish as well.) Seeing the looks on their faces, the smirk broadened into a grin. "vous m'aiment le dire en français?" (Would you like me to say it in French?)  
  
Kelsey's jaw dropped.  
  
"Ou como sobre o português?" (Or how about Portuguese?)  
  
"Umm..." Kia blinked at the Creator, who was now chuckling. "I didn't know you spoke so many languages..."  
  
"And yet you understand them all," Ashita assured her. "The Mirror halves are attuned to ANY language. Try it."  
  
Kelsey did. "Kia est un phénomène de feuille de biscuit." (Kia is a cookie sheet freak.)  
  
Kia glared at her. "Chiuda in su, lover di Shishi..." (Shut up, Shishi Lover...)  
  
"Entschuldigung ich..." Tsukai interrupted. "aber wir sollte wirklich jetzt gehen." (Pardon me...but we really should go now.)  
  
Both girls stared at him. "How can you even PRONOUNCE those words without swallowing your tongue?" Kia asked in awe.  
  
The dragon rumbled slightly, amused. "Practice." He opened his claws and the two climbed in.  
  
"Good luck!" Ashita called, as Tsukai rose into the air with a few wingbeats.  
  
"Ja ne!" Kelsey and Kia called back, waving, as the crimson beast bore them away. Yuichi was nowhere to be seen...but that was all right with both of them.  
  
It took longer than before to reach the portal. To keep themselves entertained, Kelsey taught Kia the girl scout camp song. Tsukai finally told them that if he ever heard any more stanzas about peas killing friends and doctors breaking fingers, he'd drop them both right now.  
  
"So...Yuumei...your grandmother...said you were supposed to save Kurama?" Kelsey blinked. "How did that happen?"  
  
Kia frowned thoughtfully. "Well, it happened when I was four and I was still in America. I didn't even know it was Kurama back then..."  
  
***Flashback***  
  
He sped lightly down the street, fur rippling. Who cared if this body was only five? He had enough energy to turn into his kitsune form once a year...he'd be exhausted later, but he lived in the present...  
  
Kurama turned a corner and ran on, tails waving behind him. He was too busy enjoying his "stroll" that he failed to notice the man on the porch of the house he was approaching...the man who hurried inside, then came back out...holding a shotgun. The kitsune hesitated. What was this man doing? It was past midnight, the ningens should all be asleep right now...but this one wasn't. He lifted the gun and pointed it Kurama. "Stupid critter," he grunted. Kurama braced himself as the man fired.  
  
"Nooooooo!" A small form wearing a white nightdress barreled into the man; his arm jerked and the shot missed.   
  
"Kia, stop that!" the man barked. "What are you doing up this late? Do your parents know that you're out here?" He glowered at the little girl, whose brown hair was in pigtails.   
  
"Don't shoot him!" Kia ran forward and threw her arms around Kurama's neck. He stiffened. Why was she doing this? Didn't she know how dangerous he could be? *Didn't your mother tell you about the big bad wolf? I am much the same...* He started to open his jaws to see if she would fit...then hesitated. Shuiichi...the other soul...was pleading. "Don't hurt her! She's trying to save you!"  
  
Kurama hesitated. Somehow...even without Shuiichi's interference...he couldn't harm the girl. Yuumei's words returned to haunt him. "One day, your life will be saved...by the child carried within her." She had pointed to Aiko...and this girl...vaguely resembled her. But he wasn't out of the woods yet.  
  
"Kia! Get away from that thing! It could have rabies!"  
  
Fearless to the end, the little girl merely shook her head. "I won't let you hurt him!"  
  
Kurama decided to look as nice and sweet as possible. He nuzzled Kia, who beamed at him. "See?"   
  
The man shook his head. "Not my fault if he turns on ye..." He muttered, then went inside and slammed the door.  
  
"Are you all right, Doggy?" the little girl asked, releasing the kitsune's neck. "Did he hurt you?"  
  
*Doggy?!* Kurama forced himself to relax. *She's obviously too young to have seen a fox...* He looked down at her, wondering himself why she was up this late. She couldn't have been more than three or four. *Great...I'm becoming parental.* Shaking his head at his foolishness, the kitsune picked up Kia gently with his teeth, careful not to pierce her skin. Lifting his head high so that she wouldn't hit the ground, he trotted to the house where she resided in...he could trace her energy back to it. (don't worry, he's a pretty big fox ^^) He set the little girl on the doorstep, licked her hand briefly, then turned to leave.  
  
"T'ank you..." Kia called after him. "Don't let the bad man hit you!"  
  
*Don't worry, I won't...* Kurama blended silently into the night. He'd stayed in this form too long...at this rate, it'd be another three years before he could access it again. *That girl...could that have been what the old woman was talking about?*  
  
***End Flashback***  
  
"So that fox...was Kurama?" Kelsey blinked. "Go figure."  
  
Kia nodded. "He told me about it three days ago...he said that he had met me before..."  
  
"Here we are!" Tsukai announced, drawing back his forelegs, then snapping them forward. "Have fun!" He released them.  
  
"I HAAAAATE YOOOUUUUUUUUU!" Kelsey screamed as they flew through the air...then they tumbled to the ground, Kia smacking her head on the slide.  
  
"We're back..." the girl said, amazed.  
  
"I hope he warns me next time..." Kelsey grumbled, dusting herself off. "Scratch that. There had better not BE a next time."  
  
Kia smiled. "Let's just go home." They hurried off, and arrived at Suzuki's house in pretty good time, even though it was (as Ashita had predicted) still raining.   
  
"Hello?" Kelsey called, as they stepped inside. "Anyone home?" Silence greeted her words.   
  
"Looks like they've gone out," Kia observed. "And just when we had so much to tell..."  
  
"We can wait." Kelsey plopped down on the couch.   
  
They waited. And waited. And waited. And Mikage walked in.  
  
"You're back!" she greeted them happily, hugging the two. "But where's everyone else?"  
  
Kia shrugged. "AWOL. Where've you been?"  
  
"Taking care of my sister...I was here two days ago." The girl looked around. "You've been gone for three days, you know..."  
  
"Really?" Kelsey looked surprised. "Felt like one...or two."  
  
"Time flies?" Kia suggested.  
  
"That must be it." Mikage joined Kelsey on the couch, and Kia wandered around the house, searching for signs of life. She found Puu under Yusuke's bed and hauled him out. "Hey there, little guy..."  
  
The blue penguin wriggled anxiously. "Puuuuuuu!" He looked horrible, as if something was eating him from the inside out...  
  
The girl frowned, concerned. "Puu? Are you all right?"   
  
Puu just gave a tiny whimper and burrowed into her arms, shaking.   
  
"Guys?" Kia raised her voice, walking out of the room. "I think something's wrong with Puu..."  
  
Mikage looked up, green eyes curious. "What do you mean?"  
  
Kia was now trying to pry Puu off her head as the little creature tried to curl up there. "Well...I...don't...think...this...behavior...is...normal!" With an audible pop, Puu released his grip and Kia, caught off balance, crashed backwards. "Itai..."  
  
Kelsey laughed. "Behold, Puu the plunger."  
  
"Funny," her friend said dryly.   
  
"Hey..." Mikage lifted her head. "D'you guys sense that?"   
  
Kelsey and Kia looked at her, then closed their eyes. "Hai..." Kia replied after a moment. "There's some energy signals close by...but they're weak."  
  
"And they're familiar!" Kelsey added. "They must be back!" She ran for the door, almost slipping in the small pool of water she and Kia had created upon entering. Mikage and Kia were at her heels as she yanked it open-and Touya fell in. Mikage gave a gasp of horror, and Kia clapped her hands over her mouth.   
  
Touya was a mess. Blood was everywhere, oozing from the many cuts on his arms, legs, and face. His hair was possibly the only thing clean on him.   
  
"Touya!" Kia carefully lifted him up, and the Ice Master gave a feeble groan. His lids parted to reveal his pale blue eyes, glazed with pain. "What HAPPENED to you?" She placed him on the couch, and Mikage (who was still at the door) let out a yelp. "It's Hiei!"  
  
"Nani?!" Kelsey darted past her and into the rain. She returned, carrying an unconscious Hiei, whose dark cloak was matted with blood.   
  
"Bring him over here," Kia told her. Kelsey obeyed and the girl rolled up her sleeves, ready to heal what injuries she could and silently seething. What had happened to them?  
  
"...Don't..." A pale hand reached up and caught Kia's wrist. Touya propped himself up on his elbow, wincing. "Don't heal me..."  
  
"Why not?" Kia said, more sharply than she'd intended. "LOOK at you! Look at Hiei! You're a mess!"   
  
The Ice Master smiled wearily. "This is nothing compared to the others...believe me, it's best if you save your healing powers for them." He released her wrist and Kia settled on her heels.   
  
"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Mikage begged. "Where are the others? How did you get this wounds?"  
  
Hiei stirred. Without opening his eyes, he spoke. "Netami. Netami has them."  
  
There was a sharp intake of breath from Mikage, and Kelsey clenched her fists. "That...stupid...bitch!"  
  
"We...were caught off guard..." Hiei continued, and Kelsey stopped her ranting to listen. "Too many of her servants...we fought, but we were taken...wants to brainwash us..."  
  
"You mean...the others are with her right now?" Kia looked worried. "If she brainwashes them, we're screwed."  
  
"But you two escaped?" Kelsey asked hopefully.   
  
"Yes, but barely." Touya sighed. "Escape means death...Hiei and I almost didn't make it."  
  
Hiei suddenly sat up. "Zyoshi! Is she still here??"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Kelsey blinked at him. "There was no one here but Puu."  
  
Hiei cursed profoundly. Mikage covered her ears. "She must still be in the closet." He tried to stand, but Kia firmly applied pressure with the hand that rested on his shoulder. He sat down again, scowling at her. "I'll look. Hall closet?"  
  
"Hai."  
  
Puu resettled on Kia's head, and this time, she made no effort to dissuade him from his chosen spot. She opened the closet door and stared down at a tied, gagged, bloody, and furious hanyou. "Z!" She knelt and pulled the orange rag out of her mouth.  
  
"Stupid little bastards, I'll kill them, I'll kill them all-"  
  
"Umm..." Kia, who couldn't find anything to say to that, got to work untying the knots in the ropes that held the girl. The entire time she did that, Z continued to rant about "evil bad ladies" and "stupid seagull" and "hurting my friends".  
  
"I'm guessing Netami didn't take you because you're a girl," Kia remarked finally, as she applied antiseptic to Z's wounds, then got to work doing the same to Touya and Hiei.  
  
"Damn straight." Z was practically fuming. "But I kicked some major ass, so they decided to lock me up." Her violet eyes fixed on Kia and Kelsey. "She's expecting you two."  
  
"Wants us to follow the trail of males," Kelsey said morosely.  
  
"Harder to find than bread crumbs, I bet," Kia agreed, just as glumly.  
  
"I'll go too..." Mikage began. Both girls shook their heads, cutting off any protests.  
  
"She wants us," Kelsey told her. "You guys have to stay here for backup. In case we don't make it back. If we all go at once, there'll be less of a chance."  
  
"Maybe she'll let them go if you turn over the Mirrors," Z suggested.  
  
"Sure, and maybe Kuwabara really will get an A + on his next math test," Kia replied. "Not to mention handing over the Mirror halves would not only result in our deaths, but the destruction of the three worlds as well."  
  
"Don't bother saying good-bye," Kelsey informed Touya, as he tried to rise. "We'll be back soon."  
  
"With our friends," Kia added. They grinned, headed for the door, then paused. "Umm...where IS Netami's place, anyway?"  
  
"Over the river and through the woods," Hiei said.  
  
They stared at him. "To Grandmother's house, maybe," Kelsey retorted.  
  
"I'm serious." The Jaganshi smirked at them. "Have fun."  
  
Kia rolled her eyes. "You're so helpful." They walked out the door and back out into the rain.   
  
*OOC*  
  
Out of the fire and into the frying pan...or however that saying goes...will Kia and Kelsey make it to Netami's, save the boys from being brainwashed, and make it back for cartoons? Not likely, but you know they'll try! Stay tuned and please review! Also, if you want a sequel, I'd start requesting now...  
  
Next Chapter...  
  
* The girls figure out a faster way to reach Netami's place.  
  
* Who SAID sea monkeys aren't evil?  
  
* Welcome to Netami's evil castle, admission will be one dollar or your free will... 


	14. Who said Sea Monkeys weren't evil?

Since the Internet is being an evil bastard, I think I'll work on Chapter 14 now. It IS chapter 14, right? My, how those chapters fly!  
  
Shishiwakamaru: Shut up and write, already.  
  
Kia: *brandishes pen* WHO'S the authoress here? You or me? (Shishiwakamaru is silent.) Well?  
  
Shishiwakamaru: You are.  
  
Kia: Darn right. But let me get to work, Mr. Overbearing Bastard.  
  
Touya: Now, now, Kia...  
  
Kia: He started it. ANYWAY, let's see here. In our last chapter, the girls returned to Ningenkai...only to find Kurama, Jin, Yusuke, Suzuki, Shishiwakamaru, and Kuwabara missing! (actually, it turns out that Kuwabara was home the entire time, so is perfectly safe.) Hiei and Touya (who were in pretty bad shape) gave them the 411 on what had happened, and so Kelsey and Kia went off to Netami's place, leaving Mikage and Zyoshi to guard the fort. (Shishiwakamaru snorts.) What NOW?  
  
Shishiwakamaru: You left two girls behind to "guard the fort".  
  
Kia: Yes, I did. Got a problem with that? Want me to call out the Pug?  
  
Shishiwakamaru: Shit. No, not that little evil dog...  
  
Kia: *whistles* Here, pug! (adorable little pug puppy ambles up.) See Shishi? (points to Shishiwakamaru) Shishi is BAD. You know what to do with BAD people.  
  
Pug: snort snort snort...*sprays snot into the samurai's eye*   
  
Shishiwakamaru: It BURNS! IT BUUUUURNNSSSS....  
  
Kia (helpfully): Like acid-washed jeans?  
  
Touya: *gives Kia a very strange look*...  
  
Kia: Obviously you've never felt that burn. It's not nice.  
  
Touya: ...I see.  
  
Kia: But back to the story, while we try to disinfect Shishi's eye! Remember, Kelsey, try not to be too mad at me for attacking your saiai. He started it. ^^ Welcome back to DAY-san, and to one of my reviewers who asked about the "river" thing...I hope this helps. And to mstheatre...don't worry, Z's butt-kicking scene will show up next chapter, I think.  
  
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"'Over the river and through the woods', he says," Kelsey grumbled as she and Kia slogged through the muddy ground, kicking up sprays of water every so often. "I don't see any river."  
  
"If this rain keeps up, you're sure to see a lot," the other girl replied.  
  
The blonde girl suddenly stopped. "This is stupid. We're almost out of the woods and there's no damn river anywhere!"  
  
"Yeah, you're right..." Kia looked around. "I didn't see a river, I didn't hear a river...but, then again, it's kind of hard to hear a river in this downpour." She frowned, vexed. "But Hiei said there was a river...and he doesn't lie. Often. Especially not at a time like this."  
  
"It could be enchanted," Kelsey suggested.  
  
"Enchanted?" Kia blinked at her friend. "You mean like it's invisible...?"  
  
"Exactly." Kelsey glared at the ground. "So we should make it visible!"  
  
Kia regarded her with amusement. "And we do that how?"  
  
"By..." Kelsey snapped her fingers, something Kia had never been able to do. "The Mirror halves!" She gestured impatiently at her blank-faced friend. "Mirrors always tell the truth! You can't hide anything from them!"  
  
"Ah..." Kia's confused stare cleared...somewhat. "So what now? Just ask the Mirror to reveal..." She swept out her arms extravagantly, "The river?" The waving arms caused her to go off balance and she windmilled frantically, trying to stay upright. Kelsey caught the hood of her rain slicker (yes, they at least had the sense to put them on before they left) before her friend went over.  
  
"Arigato..." Kia gasped, regaining her sense of balance.   
  
"You're welcome. I guess your eloquent words did the trick."  
  
For a moment, her friend stared at her, then looked down. A lazy, meandering river flowed to their lift, winding through the trees. "That defies all logic," she remarked calmly.  
  
"I know."  
  
"But then...all of this stuff defies all logic." Kia rolled her eyes at the hopelessness of it all. "I give up on logic."  
  
Kelsey smirked. "Smart girl. I wonder how far this river goes..."  
  
"One moment...I'll check." The winds were strong enough anyway, so Kia didn't have to summon them. They came willingly and lifted the girl high above the trees. Through the rain, the silver ribbon glinted all the way to the distant horizon. With a sigh, she returned to earth. "It's pretty far..."  
  
"How far?"  
  
"It'll take us about...three days if we run."  
  
Kelsey grimaced. "That's no good. Netami could have taken over the world by then. We need transportation."  
  
Kia frowned as well. "Maybe...but I don't think we can depend on the Mirror halves for this one...after all, mirrors can't fly."  
  
*No, you're right. But WE can!* A warm voice echoed in her head, and before either girl could react, there were twin bursts of white light. When the light faded, Kelsey and Kia found themselves facing two very beautiful creatures.  
  
The larger one turned out to be a dragon. Smaller than Tsukai, with a black hide, his golden eyes studied the two. Huge, bat-like wings unfolded and extended, hitting trees on either side. The smaller one was a horse, ebon like its draconic companion. Soft dark eyes were also focused on them, and its feathery black wings were folded neatly, shuddering slightly in the rain. Its glossy black tail swished, and both creatures remained silent, as if waiting for the girls to act first.  
  
"Um..." Kia finally whispered. Her voice was barely heard over the pounding of the rain and the restless rustling of the trees, but the horse's ears perked up. It had heard. "Who...are you...?"  
  
The dragon shifted. *I am Nasei. He is Meikyou.* He jabbed at the horse with his spiky tail, careful not to actually hit him. *We are the Creatures that reside in the Mirror Halves. I believe you needed our help?*  
  
"Hai..." Kelsey agreed cautiously. "But how long have you been in there? Ashita never told us about you."  
  
Meikyou snorted, pawing the damp ground with his left forehoof. *How long, little one? Ever since the Mirror was first created. We resided in it as one creature...but, since it has fractured, we have split as well. But now is not the time for that.* He knelt in front of Kia, who stared up at him wonderingly. *Hop on, skydancer. We will take you to Netami.*  
  
"'Sky dancer'?" Kia muttered, as she obediently scrambled onto Meikyou's back. "I guess it's better than 'Cookie Sheet'."  
  
NASA rumbled and extended his tail to Kelsey. *Going up?*  
  
"This is weird," the blonde mumbled, but stepped onto the tail. The dragon lifted it carefully and turned it to deposit her on his back, between two ridged spikes. She settled down, then glanced at Kia.  
  
"Tally-ho," the brunette said dryly, as Meikyou spread his wings and launched into the air, soon followed by Nasei, who took the lead once they were above the forest. Kelsey clung to the spiky ridge in front of her to keep from falling off. Travel was indeed much faster, and it only took them about twenty minutes to arrive in front of a grim-looking castle that looked as if it had risen from the festering ground.  
  
Kia slid off Meikyou's back, patting the horse affectionately and stroking his elegant muzzle. "Are you going to disappear?"  
  
*No. We will wait outside for you. Hurry up...Nasei is rather impatient.*  
  
Kelsey laughed, as she slid down the dragon's tail to the ground. "At least SOME people believe in us." She grinned up at her "steed". "Arigatou, Nasei. Take care."  
  
*You too.*  
  
The two girls exchanged glances then started across the moat. Kia was looking puzzledly at the murky water, which was bubbling. "Odd place to put a hot tub..."  
  
Something small and white suddenly shot up from the depths of the muck and fastened its teeth on her finger. With a yelp, Kia shook her hand frantically, trying to dislodge it. It let go with a tiny snarl and flew back into the water.   
  
"What...was...that?" Kelsey asked slowly, examining her friend's finger, which was now bleeding.  
  
More of the little critters (perhaps smelling blood) came flying towards them. Kia flung out her arm, knocking most of them back, but managed to capture one. She and Kelsey peered at it, and the brown-haired girl gave a choked laugh. "I don't believe it."  
  
It was a sea monkey.  
  
"Well, there you go," Kelsey informed Kia as the girl tossed the creature back into the water. "Sea monkeys CAN be evil." They hurried across the bridge, but soon found yet another "roadblock". A short guard that vaguely reminded them of a green-skinned midget Kuwabara--minus the red hair.  
  
"Welcome to Netami's castle," the guard said dully. "Admission is a dollar or your free-" He broke off, staring at them. "Wait, you're females..."  
  
"You noticed," Kia said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Then gimme a dollar." The guard stuck out his chin.  
  
"Get your own dollar!" Kelsey retorted. "Some of us WORK for our money!"  
  
"And some of us just bum it off others or find it under the sofa cushions," Kia mumbled under her breath. Kelsey glared at her, and she grinned back weakly. "Not to name any names, of course."  
  
"Of course," her pen pal echoed, then turned back to the guard. "Let us in or I swear I'll break every bone in your body." She pointed to Nasei, who chose that moment to yawn mightily, showing his rather dangerous-looking teeth. "Or he will."  
  
"B...but Netami will KILL me!" the goblin protested, taking a step back and raising his axe defensively. "I'm only supposed to let the Mirror Holders in."  
  
"WE'RE the Mirror Holders!" Kia snapped, losing her patience. "I'm Satsukiame, she's Kelsey, we possess the Mirror halves, so let us in already!"  
  
The guard shrank back slightly. "All right, all right...if you are who you say you are...then go in. But I want some verification."  
  
The girls grinned at each other. Then the ground shook and the half of the bridge that they weren't standing on crumbled and fell into the water, where the sea monkeys attacked it hungrily, and had soon demolished it completely. Tiny burps were heard. A gust of wind swept down on the guard and lifted him up, then dropped him in the water with a sucking plop.  
  
"Sayonara!" They chorused, as they pushed the wooden door open and disappeared, leaving the grumbling guard to fend off the snapping sea monkeys. "Verified..." he muttered.  
  
Once inside, Kelsey looked at Kia. "Any idea where to go?" They stood in the main entrance, shivering. This castle, clearly, did not have a heating system.   
  
Kia observed her surroundings, slowly turning in a circle. She frowned, then pointed to a door to the left. "Down there...I can sense their energy..."  
  
Kelsey grasped the frigid doorknob, then turned and opened it with some difficulty. It swung open to reveal a set of stairs descending into darkness. "Oh, goody!" she said with false cheer. "Now we can skip merrily down the stairs without a light and maybe even trip, fall, and break something vital! What fun!"  
  
Her friend slowly shook her head. "Sometimes, you frighten me. Like now." She started cautiously down the stairs. "We'll just be careful and watch our step-"  
  
As Kelsey started to follow, something shoved her from behind. With a startled yelp, she fell, smacking into Kia. The brunette tipped over, and the two crashed down the stairs, one or the other letting out a pained cry every step or so. Finally, they ended up in a groaning pile at the foot of the stairs.  
  
"'Watch our step', eh?" Kelsey remarked, disentangling herself and slowly standing. "How can we watch them if we can't even see the damn stairs?"  
  
"You tell me," the other girl responded, wincing.  
  
"That was quite a tumble."  
  
At the sound of the voice, the two turned. Suzuki smiled at them, strapped to a long metal table. Yusuke was unconscious on the one next to him.  
  
"Suzuki!" Kia finally scrambled to her feet and rushed over to him. "What happened? Why are you strapped to a gurney? What the hell is going on? Is Yusuke all right? Where is everyone else?"  
  
"Slow down!" the youkai told her, slightly amused, even in his current predicament. "To answer your questions, in order..." He sighed. "Netami drugged and kidnapped us, she's planning on controlling Yusuke and me in a moment, but the guard was called away to bring Kurama here and to deal with some newcomers..." Kelsey, who had joined them, and Kia exchanged somewhat-guilty looks. Somewhat. "What's going on is that we're about to be controlled and you two just came flying down the stairs; it's a wonder no one heard you, what with all the racket you were making. Yusuke is fine, he just hasn't woken up yet from the drug, and everyone else is still in the dungeon, awaiting the same fate as Shishiwakamaru and Jin."  
  
Kia gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "You mean she..."  
  
"Hai. They are under her control now. Mikage told you about Netami's ability, remember?"  
  
"Shimatta." Kelsey savagely punched her fist into her other hand. "This is just great."  
  
"So what do we do?" Kia bit her lip, trying to unstrap Suzuki from his table...and not succeeding. "If we don't do something, Suzuki and Yusuke are next!"  
  
"Pretend none of this ever happened and go back to the U.S.A.?" Kelsey suggested. Both Suzuki and Kia gave her reproachful looks. "I'm KIDDING!"  
  
Kia opened her mouth to ask another question, when a quiet voice spoke up from behind her. "Well, well, well. Netami was right. You DID come."  
  
"You sound so surprised." Kelsey said dryly, turning around. "I wouldn't expect any less from a puppet."  
  
Kia turned also. Shishiwakamaru stood there, sword unsheathed and in a fighting stance. His eyes didn't seem to focus and they were empty of any light or intelligence. "Restrain your cynical comments, Warrior. You and the Healer die here and now."  
  
*OOC*  
  
Uh-oh! It looks like the girls are in trouble...they're about to be "shishi"kabobbed! (Ignore my attempts at humor.) What'll they do now? And what about the others? Stay tuned for chapter fifteen, as this story slowly draws to a close...unless I get more requests for a sequel. ^^ Ideas are perfectly welcome!  
  
Next chapter...  
  
* Shishiwakamaru attacks! Can Kelsey hold him off until Kia reaches Netami?  
  
* Mikage and Z are attacked! It's time for these girls to kick some youkai ass!   
  
* Jin confronts Kia. Believe me, people, it's gonna get ugly...  
  
* Can a person get "half-brainwashed"? Apparently, Kurama can!  
  
Please review! I enjoy them very much! 


	15. Conflicting Winds: Jin vs Kia

It's ending soon, people...two or three more chapters. ^^ But I have more than 50 reviews! YAY! I feel so loved. Welcome back to kimpfn...I think she was in Vegas...and I'm glad to recommend her fic, Miss Independent. It's great. But. I will be gone from July 27 to August...well, I should be back on the 2nd. I'm not sure if they have computers where I'm going, so I may pop up to review...but no new chapters, sadly. So here's one more before I go! Oh...and for DAY-san's question...Hiei's super fast...and I have authoress powers...so...they...ummm... got there really fast. Except Kia and Kelsey got there quicker. When we last left off, the girls had finally reached Netami's castle...and Kia established that evil people do indeed have sea monkeys. Rock on. Now, they've come face to Shishiwakamaru...Kelsey and I co-wrote the first part over MSN Messenger. Welcome back, Kelsey!   
  
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"I'm sure." Kelsey clenched her teeth. "And what half-assed puppet boy's gonna tell me off?"  
  
Suzuki and Kia stared at the two. Yusuke was still unconscious. Muffled protests suddenly reached the girl's ears. "Kindly remove your hands...I cannot allow you to..." Kurama? The guards were bringing him in to be brainwashed! Desperately, she glanced at Kelsey. "The guards are coming!" she hissed urgently.   
  
The blue-haired youkai took a step towards Kelsey. "I thought I TOLD you to keep your comments to yourself!" He lunged at her.  
  
"Maksaka." (which Kelsey informs me is "never" in some obscure language.) Kelsey scowled, quickly drawing her sword to block Shishi. The impact shook her arm so badly she thought that the sword would drop out of her hands. Adjusting her grip, she backed away from him. "Don't be stupid, Shishi."  
  
"It is YOU who is idiotic, Warrior," Shishiwakamaru calmly replied, thrusting at her again. Kia had both hands to her mouth, utterly horrified. What could she...  
  
"Kia." Startled, she looked at Suzuki. "Kelsey's got him distracted. Go find Netami. I don't believe there's any other way to free Shishiwakamaru...and if she's done the same to Jin..."   
  
"But I can't just leave her!" Kia protested.  
  
"Of course you can, Kia." Kelsey grated. "Your legs work, don't they? Just lift one foot up and put it in front of the other. We call it walking. It enables you to leave people, namely me." She kept her sword in a defensive position, looking around for something that might help.  
  
Kia rolled her eyes. "Can you EVER be serious?" She looked over at Suzuki. "If you get brainwashed, I'll be very mad at you," she informed him, turning to leave, and then hesitating. "Kelsey, are you sure...?" Shishiwakamaru's eyes flicked to her and he smirked. "Stay if you will. You're next."  
  
"Yes. Yes I'm sure." Kelsey didn't take her eyes off Kia, using Shishi's moment of lowered focus to readjust her stance, loosening the muscles in her shoulders. "I suppose you COULD stay, to avenge me after I die." She said cheerily. "Does that sound good?"  
  
"You're definitely unique," the girl grumbled, and left at a run. The samurai debated running after her, but then turned to Kelsey, and sneered. "Come," he stated simply, and swung his blade at her head.   
  
"Well." Kelsey blinked. "Hello, Shishi."  
  
His sword met hers with a clink, and the youkai stepped back. "Address me properly. Shishiwakamaru. Even a foolish ningen girl like you should easily grasp that."  
  
"I have to." She backed up. "You won't take it personally if I don't kill you? I mean...I know this is supposed to be part of Netami's evil plot..." Kelsey sighed. "...But I'm just not getting the beat."   
  
The samurai blinked. "Actually, it makes it easier for me to slaughter you if you don't resist." He followed her, eyes narrowed and blank.  
  
"Who said I wasn't resisting?" Kelsey asked calmly. "I just said I wasn't going to kill you." She blocked another strike, and then rapidly parried as he came at her again with several quick thrusts, trying to find an opening.  
  
Suzuki watched this all with wide eyes, as Shishiwakamaru stopped briefly.   
  
"Who taught you your skills, ningen girl?" He panted.  
  
Kelsey blinked at him. "You did. Well, you taught me and Kia-"  
  
"Kia and ME," Suzuki corrected dryly. Kelsey grimaced. "Kia and ME," she repeated obediently, "how to fence. So did Hiei."  
  
You lie," the Samurai snarled. "I have served Her for all of my life."  
  
The girl raised an eyebrow. "Hoo boy...she really DID sock it to you, didn't she?"  
  
"I don't know what you mean," he said stiffly, as he lunged at her. Kelsey was a little slow to block and hissed sharply as the blade slashed her right arm. "Just a gash..." she muttered, staring into the clouded eyes of the youkai. Obviously, she would have to try something else...  
  
Back to Kia...  
  
The girl ran down the dank corridor, trying to get her eyes to adjust to this awful blackness. Hushed whispers and a muffled grunt of pain alerted her and she quickly ducked into a crevice in the wall, flattening herself against it and trying not to breathe too loudly.  
  
"Control me all you like...but they're smart enough to stay away from you..."  
  
Kurama! Kia almost ran forward to greet him, but he wasn't alone.  
  
"Aw, shaddup Fox...ye know they'll come...and ye and yer friends'll be there to greet 'em."  
  
There was the sound of something being kicked, and another low cry. "Come on now."  
  
It took all of her self-control not to run after them and beat up on the guards. They were going to control Kurama too...  
  
*But Kelsey is there.* She reminded herself. *She might be able to do something.* Or, then again, Kelsey against Shishiwakamaru, two guards, AND Kurama...not to mention Suzuki and Yusuke.   
  
"Inari, guide me..." she muttered under her breath, invoking one of Kurama's favorite Japanese deities. She ran on. Something was nudging her subconscious...very faintly. Then it hit her. This was the same as her dream! Running down the corridor...and, at the very end, she saw a glimmer of violet light...  
  
Kia didn't hesitate. She plunged into the light and was temporarily blinded for a moment. She blinked and her vision was restored.   
  
She stood on a black marble floor. Amethysts were hung from the ceiling, each purple crystal a different length. The room was empty- except for a tiny looking mirror, which was suspended above an uncomfortable-looking black throne. Before the throne was a small stool, on which sat a glowing ball of light, constantly shifting from green, to purple, to black. On the throne sat a woman.  
  
"Well, well. Only one. Tell me Healer, did your little friend already get killed?" Her voice was low and sultry, and long, dark lashes framed cold violet eyes. Unlike Z's, they were narrowed with suspicion and loathing. Her black hair, which trailed down past her ankles, was in one long braid, intertwined with amethysts and sapphires. She was dressed in a slinky, low-cut black evening gown that sparkled with sequins, with a golden pendant in the shape of an eagle around her neck. She was beautiful. Kia hated her on the spot.  
  
"Don't underestimate her!" She retorted, glaring at Netami.   
  
"Ah." The enchantress chuckled. "You took awhile. I was afraid Yuichi hadn't done his job."  
  
"So..." Kia blinked. "He WAS working for you!"  
  
"Brilliant, isn't it? And you weren't in Ningenkai to protect your friends..." Netami smirked. "I am truly evil, my dear..."  
  
"You broke rule twenty-three in the book," the girl informed her. "SHAME on you!"  
  
The other shrugged. It traveled down her entire body in sections, reminding Kia of a snake. "Well, aside from that...I thought you'd enjoy my little pets. And here! Meet my newest pet!" She gestured, and someone walked out from behind the throne.  
  
Jin.  
  
For a moment, Kia stood there, just staring at the Wind Master. Like Shishiwakamaru, his eyes were unfocused. And devoid of any emotion. No feeling, no warmth. Nothing. He stared down at her, a mocking smile on his lips. This wasn't her cheerful friend anymore...this was a puppet. Manipulated by Netami.   
  
"Jin..." Netami rose languidly from her horrid throne. "She will be your opponent. Play with her as long as you wish. And then kill her."  
  
The redheaded youkai stepped forward. Kia stepped back.   
  
"It shall be done, Mistress." Even his voice was dull. "Fight me, Healer." His wind started to form around him.  
  
"I don't want to fight you!" the girl protested, taking another step back. Too late. A wall of wind slammed into her, throwing her into the air, and then to the harsh ground with a painful smack. Winded (no pun intended), Kia rolled to her side, wheezing. She slowly sat up, only to scramble to her feet and run, in order to avoid a fierce windy punch. She'd seen this attack in action before...and it looked like it hurt.  
  
"Snap out of it!" She yelled, frustrated. "I'm your friend, Jin!"  
  
"No use." Netami giggled, a high-pitched sound with the exact range of a whistle. Kia winced. "There's no getting through to him." She tossed a scabbard to Jin, and the Wind Master pulled out a nasty-looking broadsword. He advanced on his former companion with amazing speed.  
  
*Great...I don't think I have a choice. At least I can defend myself!*  
  
Jin paused when Kia started to glow icy-blue. Then he ran forward again-only to be stopped by a wall of wind. He frowned slightly, summoning his own power. Wind clashed against wind, with both wielders struggling to maintain their grips on it. Kia gritted her teeth as his power battered her barrier. He was a Wind Master...while she was only his student. Jin finally broke through, and Kia was knocked off her feet again.  
  
*I'm getting tired of this...* She thought grimly, as she got to her feet once more, turning her head slightly to spit out some blood. The coppery taste remained. A slight discoloration in her senses warned her too late. The broadsword scored, slashing her across her left side. Kia screamed, immediately clamping her hands over the wound to staunch the bleeding wound. A part of her hated herself for screaming like a wimp. *You baby! Stop whimpering, you're not gonna die!* Another part secretly wished that she could just throttle Jin, friend or not. *Okay...he attacked me. I don't want to hurt him, but if he tries to kill me again, I'm going to go psycho-bitch on him.* The last part, and the wisest, told her to keep her guard up. *You can do this...don't let Netami get to you...there's always a cure, an antidote, a counter-curse! Find it!* She'd find a way to snap the Wind Master out of it...or die trying.  
  
"Okay, Jin..." she addressed the blank-faced youkai. "Try and get me." *Kia, you have truly lost it...*  
  
At Suzuki's house...  
  
Both Hiei and Touya were asleep. Mikage sat wearily in Kurama's chair, holding Puu. Z was still fuming. "Let 'em come, I'll kill 'em all..."  
  
"I wonder if Kelsey and Kia got to Netami's okay," the fire youkai said thoughtfully, looking worried. "I mean, if the guys couldn't withstand her..."  
  
"Well, she DOES control them," Z reminded her. "Don't worry about it, they'll be fine." Suddenly, her violet eyes brightened. "Let's worry about us now!" She got into a fighting stance, just as the front door exploded, with splinters flying everywhere.  
  
Mikage winced. "Suzuki loved that door." She glanced up, as about seven tall youkai entered, wielding swords and looking particularly nasty. "Oh, goody. Aren't you supposed to be dealing with the other girls?"  
  
"Netami-sama will deal with them," a dark-haired man wearing glasses said quietly, stepping forward. "I am Yuichi. Turn over Touya and Hiei to us, or suffer the consequences."  
  
Z snorted. "How long have you been rehearsing THAT one?"  
  
"Oh, shut up," he retorted, and snapped his fingers. The youkai charged at the two. Z leapt into the air and hurled something unseen at two of them. With startled yelps, they exploded, showering blood and bits of their bodies all over the room.  
  
"Ick..." Mikage shuddered. "Z, can't you make that a LITTLE bit cleaner?"  
  
The hanyou shrugged. "I'm sorry, I'm out of Lysol." She then proceeded to randomly assault two more youkai. Mikage, turning her head to flame an approaching attacker, heard the yelps and pleas of mercy of the half-demon's victims. The girl grinned and pulled out a pair of sai, wicked-looking trident things, and began to slash and stab the youkai. ((It's a little hard to explain sai...^^())) Once she tired of the bloodshed, she simply flipped the blades and knocked them out that way.  
  
Ten minutes later, Yuichi was the only one standing. The other seven youkai were either dead or would be in remission for a VERY long time. Mikage and Z had several cuts and scrapes, but were otherwise unharmed.  
  
"You take him," Mikage told the hanyou, as she settled back in the chair, looking at herself with disgust. "Blood is so hard to remove..."  
  
Z grinned cheerfully and faced the man squarely. Her eyes closed and she began to glow a fiery black. Yuichi took a step back, then ran for it. The hanyou's massive darkness wave flowed from her and over the man, stifling his screams. When the darkness faded, there was nothing left of Ashita's former assistant. Not even a pile of ashes.  
  
"Well," Z remarked, stepping back and rubbing her hands briskly on her clothes. "Looks like it's time to clean house."  
  
Back to Netami's castle...  
  
The guards soon entered the control chamber...imagine their surprise to see Kelsey and Shishiwakamaru, swords locked and still battling fiercely. Both seemed tired, but neither one gave up. Kelsey didn't even appear to see the guards, or Kurama, who was led to a gurney and strapped on, still struggling. The girl DID hear the Youko's yell when the taller of the two guards placed his hand on Kurama's forehead and glowed black. *A channeler for Netami's power...* Kelsey realized. She had to move fast. She blocked the Samurai's strike at her ribs, and quickly ran over to the guard, smacking him with the hilt on his head. With a groan, he slumped over, and Kurama stopped glowing. He appeared to be unconscious...but then, much to Kelsey's horror, he opened his eyes and sat up. Then he pulled a rose from his hair, flicked it into his trademark Rose Whip and rushed at her.  
  
Kelsey leapt back, almost colliding with Shishiwakamaru. "Shimatta!!" She yelled angrily, ducking his swing, and bringing her sword to a guard position. But Kurama's words almost made her drop it.  
  
"Gomen, Kelsey, I can't control it!"  
  
"Uh...nani?" The girl stared at him in shock. "You're aware of it??"  
  
"Of course I am...for some reason, when you interrupted the guard, Netami didn't have a chance to fully control me...only my body! Oh...jump to the left."  
  
Kelsey obeyed, and just narrowly avoided getting struck by the whip. "This is weird..."  
  
And back to Jin and Kia...  
  
The battle raged on. Kia made a valiant attempt not to harm the Wind Master, only using her wind to shield herself from the brunt of his attack. She couldn't bring herself to hurt her friend. Of course, Jin had no such obligation and kept coming, a grim-faced puppet of death. Finally, Jin ran her up against the wall. The girl was too tired to call up the winds, but she had to do something as the sword slashed for her...so she did. She grabbed the tip of the sword and pushed it away from her, wincing as the sharp steel cut her hands. Jin stumbled, losing momentum, and Kia shot past him. *I need help...*  
  
*OOC*  
  
Heh...this is getting good. Poor Kia...if she doesn't do something fast, she's gonna be dead. In the lair of an evil person who doesn't even abide by evil rules, no less. Oh, the horror... Not to mention Kelsey's little problem! And Kurama...he's trying to kill her, and yet warn her at the same time. How odd. Stay tuned! This story will end in approximately two chapters. ^^ Please review! I've got a couple votes for a sequel...hmm...  
  
Next chapter...  
  
* Kia asks for help...and receives it in an unusual package...  
  
* Kelsey can free Shishiwakamaru! But when she finds out what she has to do, will she have the courage to do it?  
  
* Two VERY angry Mirror Holders and an evil sorceress...who will triumph?   
  
* Several sacrifices will be made...but are they worth it? 


	16. Sacrifice

I'm back, everyone! Did you miss me? ^^ Well, I promised another chapter, so here it is...even if I am in excruciating pain (think walking all over a college campus in sandals for a week). But...let's see. In our last chapter, Kia and Jin were having...err... "conflicting problems". So now those two are at it, while Kelsey is fighting Shishiwakamaru and trying to avoid Kurama...who is only HALF brainwashed. Yep, that's a new one. Ciu Sune...I don't think I've heard from you before...but thank you very much for reviewing. And YES, people, there WILL be a sequel! I just need an idea, so feel free to offer one. I will, of course, give you credit for it. But on to our story!  
  
Jin: It's good to be back...those dorm rooms were awful.  
  
Kia: Fine. Next time, YOU can sleep outside.  
  
Jin: But the dorm counselors won't let me!  
  
Kia: Well, you DID kinda...blow open the window...and it kinda broke...so maybe that's why. *sweatdrops*  
  
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Kelsey winced as Kurama's thorny whip snapped across her left cheek, leaving a small trail of blood. She rubbed it ruefully, then yelped and slid under Suzuki's gurney as Shishiwakamaru leapt for her.  
  
"That's not really going to be much help," the blonde youkai commented.  
  
"Yeah, but neither will standing there and letting them kill me!" Kelsey countered. She crawled out again.  
  
"You must believe me, I really don't want to do this!" Kurama insisted, as the whip came at her again. Kelsey was forced to do a sort of mid-air flip to avoid it. She landed wrong, and there was an audible crack as not only did she land wrong, she collided with the base of the gurney.   
  
Suzuki blinked. "That can't be good." He looked over at Yusuke, who was stirring. "What a horrible mess we're all in..."  
  
"And to think that all hope rests on the shoulders of...well..." The Youko hesitated, even as he started towards the blonde girl, who was clutching her right ankle, her features screwed up in a pained grimace.  
  
"Teenage girls," Kelsey spat, somewhat bitterly. "Even YOU doubt us!"  
  
"I do not doubt your abilities," Kurama corrected her patiently, raising the whip again. "I just think that it is rather unfair for you to have to face all of us..."  
  
Back to Kia and Jin...  
  
"This is getting me nowhere..." the brown-haired girl muttered. She was bruised, battered, her left side was one nasty mess, her hand was still bleeding from where she had clasped Jin's sword, and she didn't have enough strength or energy to use her wind abilities...nor the heart. *I HAVE to do something...*  
  
-Kia? Are you alright?-   
  
The questioning voice made Kia jump in startlement. She looked around...but there was no one there...no one there who would have asked such a question, anyway. Netami couldn't care less if she was killed, and Jin...well, Jin wanted her dead too.  
  
-Kia...please answer me! It's Mikage! What's going on?-  
  
Mikage! Kia mentally kicked herself. She'd completely forgotten that the fire youkai was a telepath!   
  
-I-I'm fine, Mikage. Just having a little bit of trouble with an unreasonable Wind Master.-  
  
-So Jin was controlled? Anyone else? Are you hurt at all?-  
  
-Just a few scratches and bruises.- She didn't want her friend to worry about her. -Shishiwakamaru was also controlled, and they were taking Kurama in when I left.- She jumped aside just before she was impaled on the sword. She started to run again, warily keeping an eye on the small pools of blood she was leaving on the floor...she didn't want to slip. Then, it'd all be over.  
  
-Hmm...I can sense you're in trouble. I've been working at telekinesis and teleportation...maybe I can be of help. Would you like a weapon? Just for defense, of course!-  
  
-That would be great.- Kia suddenly suffered a crazy idea. -Mikage, I think I know which one...-  
  
And back to Kelsey...  
  
The girl had managed to knock Kurama out...by pure luck. Obviously, he didn't have the same grace when he couldn't control his body...and his body was so eager to kill her, he had tripped over her outstretched leg and gone flying into the stone wall. He would be out for awhile...but Shishiwakamaru was a different case. Obviously, such tactics wouldn't work on him. So she did something totally crazy...and totally Kelsey. She kept her sword in the guard position and stepped back. "It's just a jump to the left," she sang out, doing it. "And then a step to the riiiiiiight..." She did this also with much waving of the arms.  
  
The look on the samurai's face was priceless. His brow furrowed in perplexity as he tried to figure out whether Kelsey was trying a new attack...or had just lost her mind.  
  
"Put your hands on your hips...and bring your knees in tiiiiiight! But it's the pelvic thrust...that really drives you insaaaaaaane! Let's do the Time Warp Agaaaaiiin!"  
  
"I'd clap if my hands weren't BOUND TO THE GURNEY!" Suzuki called pointedly.   
  
Kelsey grinned sheepishly at him. "I'm kind of busy, Suzuki..."  
  
"You're gonna have to do more than that!" He replied. "SHOCK him out of it before you two end up killing each other!"  
  
"But what could possibly be big enough to shock him??" Kelsey protested.  
  
"Hmm..." Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Kelsey, he knows you hate him. You let him know that every day. So...kiss him!"  
  
"NANIIIIIIIIIIII?! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR STUPID DEMON MIND??"  
  
"You have a better idea?" Suzuki retorted. Both of them knew she didn't.  
  
"Fine." Kelsey said huffily, sheathing her sword and walking over to Shishiwakamaru, who seemed surprised that his prey would come so willingly to death. But he would oblige her. He lifted his sword...and the girl stepped in, grabbed his wrists and shoved them down to keep him from lopping her head off, and kissed him firmly on the mouth. To her great surprise, she found that she actually liked it. She held the kiss for a moment, glaring over the samurai's shoulder at Suzuki (who was grinning widely), and Yusuke (who had woken up and was now humming love songs under his breath). Her eyes basically conveyed the message of "I'm going to kill you when this is all over." Hey, she had to keep up appearances. Then she stepped back, cautiously watching Shishiwakamaru for his reaction. His eyes were wide, his pupils dilated, and he gave his head a small shake, blue hair flying. "You DO love me!" He said in a tone of utter amazement and wonder, and crashed to the floor.  
  
"Never underestimate the weakness of males," Kelsey informed the unconscious samurai with a grin.  
  
"TOOK you long enough!" Yusuke called. "If only I had a camera...that would be great blackmail!"  
  
The blonde made a face at him, and unstrapped Suzuki. "You can untie Urameshi," she told him. "I'm going to go find Kia." And she ran off without a backward glance.  
  
Back to Kia AGAIN...  
  
-Are you sure?- Mikage asked dubiously, after she had heard Kia's request.  
  
-I hope so. Just please send it.-  
  
-A-all right...-  
  
The moment the weapon appeared in her hands, Kia realized that she had lost track of Jin. *You idiot!* She berated herself. *Don't take your eyes off him!* But, luckily, she was still attuned to the wind. She sensed the change in the air directly behind her, and didn't waste any time. She whirled and smacked the Wind Master as hard as she could with the one weapon that just might snap him out of it: a cookie sheet. Once it hit, she released it and it clattered to the floor.  
  
Jin staggered back with a yelp, dropping his sword. His ears quivered slightly as he stared at the baking utensil. "A...cookie sheet?"  
  
Kia nodded. "C'mon, Jin, TRY to remember! Remember how we met? You walked into Yusuke's house and I thought you were a gang member...and you were right behind me, and I hit you with the cookie sheet!" She looked into his clouded eyes for a moment. "Please remember!" she pleaded. "Jin, you promised me you'd never break my trust! I still trust you, and to prove it..." She sank down, resting against a wall. "If you want to kill me, I'm not going to stop you." Even if she wanted to stop him, she was too injured and too exhausted.  
  
The redheaded youkai eyed her for a moment, then looked down at his sword, which lay at his feet. He seemed to be having some sort of inner turmoil. Kia's hope rose. Maybe she had gotten through to him!  
  
Netami, bored and annoyed by her servant's hesitance, rose from her throne and picked up the sword. "Stand aside," she snapped at him. "I'll kill her myself." She smirked at Kia, amethyst eyes glittering with malice and maniacal glee. "I've waited for this day, Mirror Holder..." she whispered, just loud enough so that the girl could hear her. "At least you will be able to join your family...and once I kill your friend, the Densetsu no Kagami will be mine!"  
  
Kia said nothing, merely shut her eyes. If Netami was going to kill her, she didn't want the sorceress' prissy face to be the last thing she saw.  
  
There was a yell as the sword sought and found its target and struck deep, drinking its fill of blood.  
  
Kelsey ran in a moment later. The scene that met her eyes was something she wouldn't forget for a very long time.  
  
Netami stood, holding the sword, the blade coated with fresh blood. Kia was slumped against a wall, brown eyes wide with shock and horror at what had just happened.   
  
Jin stood squarely in front of the brunette, a giant bloody wound just below his rib cage. He was panting raggedly, and his eyes, even though glazed with pain, were bright.  
  
"Don't you dare touch her," he snarled at Netami. "I'll kill you."  
  
"...Jin...?" Kia's voice was tiny, but everyone heard it. The Wind Master turned slightly and smiled down at her.   
  
"I...didn't...forget...my promise..." He whispered. Then his eyes closed and he fell over halfway onto her lap.  
  
Kia shook him. "Jin?" No reply. She shook him harder this time. "Jin!" The youkai lay still in her arms. Slowly, tears filled her eyes, cascading down to plop onto his pale face. "Jin, wake up...Jin! JIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!" A few sobs escaped her as she wrapped her arms around the body of her friend, pain filling every part of her body. "You bastard!" She yelled at him, hoping she could provoke him to snap at her. "Why did you do that?! You baka...you stupid stupid stupid Wind Master..." Seeing that he wasn't replying, the tears came faster and her sobs doubled.  
  
Kelsey walked over to her friend and knelt, touching her shoulder gently. "Kia. We have...other business..." She looked over at Netami, who had casually tossed aside the sword and was now sashaying towards her uncomfortable-looking throne.  
  
The girl gently propped Jin up against the wall, sending what was left of her healing power into searing out infection and closing his massive wound. Then she slowly stood up. The two walked together and stopped about three feet from the throne. They made quite an interesting pair. Kelsey was bloody, and her blonde hair was straggling loosely about her face and down her back. Kia was swaying slightly in exhaustion, and covered in blood also...hers AND Jin's.  
  
"Netami!" Kelsey yelled. "You've made us really mad!!"  
  
"Oh, no, I made the widdle baby girls mad," the sorceress mocked, smirking. "Whatever shall they do? Throw their pacifiers at me?"  
  
Kia and Kelsey joined hands, Kia's right to Kelsey's left. Neither of them knew exactly what they were doing...but there was a calm voice in both of their heads, instructing them on what they must do...and the risks involved. But it was their only choice.  
  
Silver and gold light suddenly appeared around the girls, intertwining with each other and slowly filling the entire chamber. Kelsey's hair slowly floated up, and Kia's own brown tresses escaped from her ponytail. It was taking all of their remaining strength...but not only physical. They were using every bit of willpower, every bit of determination, pain, and yes, even love to keep this up.  
  
"We can't allow you to do this any more," Kia said in a voice that was hers...and yet, not her own. It was older, with more wisdom in the tone than that of which she currently possessed. It was, in fact, her voice. But it was the voice of the woman that she was to become.  
  
"Netami, you will never be the wielder of the Densetsu no Kagami," Kelsey agreed, also in an older voice. There were also two more differences, one for each girl. The golden light had wrapped around Kelsey...and a pair of black dragon wings had emerged from her back, breaking through her thin shirt. The silver light had ensconced Kia, and she also had a pair of wings. But these were a mixture of white and light gray, with the feathers ranging in size and color.  
  
There was one more thing to do. They had to summon three memories: Something that haunted them, something that made them happy, and something that they had done. For Kelsey, the memory of being locked in a dark closet by a psychotic baby-sitter when she was five sufficed for her bad memory. Smacking Shishiwakamaru with a schoolbag brought a smile to her face as she chose that memory of happiness, and her last memory was of the first time she had unleashed her power upon the Zankoku.  
  
The memory that haunted Kia was of Mamoru hanging lifelessly from the light post and of hearing the members of his gang laugh. Her happy memory was when she and Jin had conversed with a small flock of sparrows. And her last memory was of a little girl hugging a very large fox around his neck.  
  
The light flared, pooling in their hands and peeking from their intertwined fingers. Very carefully, they raised their arms...and then with a final shout, they brought them down, and there was a powerful explosion of silver, gold, and white light and a desperate scream from Netami, who had never experienced pain before.  
  
Once the light faded, the girls slowly released each other's hand and stepped back, eyeing the pile of black ashes and a charred pendant...all that remained of Netami. Wearily, they headed back to Jin...but Kelsey's head swam, Kia's knees buckled, and they collapsed before they could reach him. They had used up all of their own power and all of their strength. And there, Suzuki (carrying an unconscious Shishiwakamaru) and Yusuke (carrying an unconscious Kurama) found them.  
  
*OOC*  
  
Ooh...cliffhanger of sorts. *sniffles* I admit, I got a little teary-eyed when I was writing this...but there's one more chapter left! Here's a teaser...  
  
* Everyone ends up at Suzuki's place. But will Kia and Kelsey ever wake up? Or is it too late?  
  
* A few confessions are made.  
  
* Ashita drops by! And Z has a secret of her own?  
  
Thank you everyone! Keep reviewing! Remember, I still need ideas for the sequel. ^^ 


	17. Owari: Really the End?

This is it, minna-san...the end of Densetsu no Kagami. No, don't start crying, I PROMISE there's going to be a sequel! In fact, Kelsey and I have already come up with one...keep your eyes open, there will be some roles available for some extra character. Sadly, no romance for you unless you want one of my OCs... and possibly not as large as Mikage and Zyoshi...but hey, you'll show up! I personally want to thank each and every one of my reviewers, especially the ones who have been with me through the entire story. And a special thank-you to Kelsey, for allowing me to use her as a character...I hope I captured the essence of Kelsey (eep, sounds like a perfume!). It's the reviews of all of you that kept this story alive. *starting to get teary-eyed* A...arigato...  
  
Jin: *hands Kia a tissue*  
  
Kia: *sobs into it* I love you all! And now, without further ado, the last chapter of Densetsu no Kagami!  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The first thing Kelsey saw when she opened her eyes was Shishiwakamaru's face. Not exactly the best thing to wake up to, according to her. So she smacked him with her pillow.  
  
The samurai spat out a few goose feathers, and grinned wryly at the girl. "It's nice to see you're back to your sweet self."  
  
Kelsey didn't bother to reply. There was a dull pain in her ankle, but it was bearable. Pushing aside the covers of the bed she was in, she checked it out. It was now bound securely with ace bandages. She then looked down at herself. She was in a very red large night shirt, that proclaimed, "I went to Makai, and all I got was this **** shirt!"   
  
"How cute," she muttered, grinning. Then she looked at Shishiwakamaru. "What happened?"  
  
The blue-haired youkai frowned slightly. "According to Suzuki, he and Yusuke found you and Kia unconscious in the middle of Netami's throne room. And Jin, too. All three of you were in pretty bad shape."  
  
"How bad?" Kelsey asked, looking around the room, which she now recognized as the one that she and Kia shared. Her gray eyes rested on the other bed. But now there were two. Jin lay in one. His color was good, and he was breathing regularly. So he was fine. But, the occupant in the other bed...  
  
Kia lay still, the blankets covering her moving up every once in awhile as the girl took shallow, ragged breaths. She was still quite pale, and Kelsey's concern showed in her eyes.   
  
"What's wrong with Kia?" She snarled, grabbing Shishiwakamaru by the collar and shaking him a bit.  
  
Shishiwakamaru sighed softly. "She acquired more injuries fighting than you did when you fought me. And using the Mirror's power drained energy from her that she did not have."  
  
"Meaning...?" Kelsey was starting to turn red with frustration and her grip on the samurai's collar tightened.   
  
"It means..." The samurai said patiently. "That she drained her own life energy in order to destroy Netami."  
  
"So..." the girl looked at her friend, biting her lip. "Will she be okay?"  
  
"It's hard to say." Suzuki walked in, settling in a chair by Jin's bed. "Kurama did all that he could to save her...so only time will tell. She does look pretty bad, though."  
  
"Why not me?" Kelsey demanded angrily. "I feel like crap, but I'M alive!"  
  
"More stamina...the Mirror half you possess, Courage, gives that to you. The ironic thing about Kia's half is that no one has ever learned how to use it to heal themselves...only others."  
  
Shishiwakamaru nodded. "When the two of you unleashed the Mirror's power, it was Kia's half that made sure that the result didn't kill you, Kelsey...and it also healed Jin. He's just resting now."  
  
Indeed, the Wind Master now sat up, blinking bleary blue eyes. "Wha...what's goin' on?"  
  
Kelsey had buried her head in her covers, so Suzuki filled Jin in on what had happened.  
  
The redhead's response was actually interesting. "I did WHAAAAAT?!" He yelped.  
  
"Tried to kill Kia," Kelsey said helpfully. "But then you got stabbed with your own sword trying to save her. Life is ironic, isn't it?"  
  
"You're not helping, dear," Suzuki muttered under his breath, as Jin looked over at the pale form of the brunette.  
  
"Neither are you!" was the girl's quick reply, and she picked up her pillow and threw it at Suzuki. It bounced off his head, and he snatched it up. "Normally, I'm nice to invalids and girls-but in your case, I'll make an exception!" He hurled it back at her. She ducked and it hit Shishiwakamaru, who grabbed it with a growl and leapt at Suzuki. Jin watched the chaos, somewhat amused. Pillows and feathers were flying.   
  
It was just as Shishiwakamaru was rearing back to wallop Kelsey with the poor, bedraggled pillow that someone spoke up.  
  
"You people are WAY too noisy..."  
  
The noise hushed abruptly, and three heads swiveled in the direction of the tired speaker. Kia was lying on her side, watching them with her brown eyes sparkling with their characteristic warmth.  
  
Jin (with incredible speed, for someone who had just woken up) leapt up and rushed over to the bed, seizing one of the girl's hands in his. "Kia! You're alive!"  
  
"I...am..." Kia agreed, somewhat surprised. "So sorry to disappoint you."  
  
Suzuki rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Yep, she's back, all right."  
  
Kelsey grinned and hopped out of bed, balancing rather well on her good ankle. She limped over and hugged Kia. "Well, I'm off to go greet the others..."  
  
"I'll help her!" Shishiwakamaru said hastily, standing up.  
  
The blonde cast him a dark glare. "I'm not crippled, you know!"  
  
Suzuki rose also. "Of course not," he said soothingly. "We're just doing this to embarrass you." Moving fluidly, he picked up Kelsey by her arms, and Shishiwakamaru grabbed her legs, earning him a kick on the nose.  
  
"PUT ME DOWN, YOU BASTARDS! PUT ME DOWN NOW! I mean it, put me down or you are in BIG trouble!"  
  
"Sweet as ever," Suzuki remarked with a smirk as they carried the shrieking girl out of the room and kicked the door shut.  
  
Jin and Kia watched them go, then looked at each other.  
  
"What was that all about?" the girl wondered aloud.  
  
The Wind Master shrugged. "I have no idea." He coughed, cleared his throat, twice, then studied the bedspread. He still hadn't released her hand yet.  
  
Kia looked at him, somewhat puzzled. "Um...Jin? Are...you all right?"  
  
"I'm...fine..." Jin suddenly groaned. "No, actually, I'm the biggest baka in Ningenkai, Makai, and Reikai."  
  
"That would be Yusuke," Kia said, gently teasing. "What brought that up?"  
  
"I attacked you..." the redhead replied, head hanging low and ears drooping. "I tried to KILL you...and after all I said!"  
  
"You said it yourself, you kept your promise," the girl reminded him. "Don't feel bad, it wasn't your fault! And you saved my life, Jin..."  
  
"Kia..." The Wind Master was very slowly turning crimson.  
  
"Hai?"  
  
"Remember when...Touya and I went after you...when you ran off, and got burned...and you healed us?"  
  
"How could I forget?" Kia shook her head ruefully. "I still feel guilty for that..."  
  
"Well...you missed a spot..."  
  
"You waited THIS long to tell me this??" The girl stared at him. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I could've spared you some pain."  
  
"At that point, I doubt it."  
  
Her eyebrows furrowed in perplexity. "What are you talking about? Where is it? I think I can heal it now."  
  
Jin, looking somewhat sheepish, pointed to his heart.   
  
There was a brief period of silence, which consisted of Kia staring at Jin, mouth hanging open slightly. The Wind Master finally broke the awkward stillness.  
  
"Gomen nasai..." He mumbled, finding it hard to look at her. "But...ever since you...hit me with a cookie sheet...and I saw you for the first time...I've been slowly falling in love with you."  
  
The girl sat back with a low whistle. "That long...?" She whispered.  
  
"Hai..."  
  
"Jin..." Kia lifted his chin with two of her fingers, forcing him to meet her gaze. The youkai flinched, expecting fireworks or for her to produce a cookie sheet out of nowhere to knock the feelings out of him. "Calm down, I'm not going to kill you...actually..." She turned pink. "I...sort of...feel the same way...so, if you still want me to heal that wound of yours, I'll be happy to."  
  
"Well, in that case..." Before she could say anything, Jin had captured her lips with his own.  
  
Warmth spiralled from their kiss and filled the girl's entire body. Her eyes widened in shock, and she pulled back, breathing heavily for a moment.  
  
Jin was watching her worriedly. "Kia, are you..." The girl shook her head, and gave him a shaky smile. "I'm fine. I've just...never been kissed like that before..."  
  
"Like what?" The redhead was confused. He'd never kissed anyone before, except for Botan, and that was on a dare...not to mention, he'd been drunk and couldn't remember it at all.   
  
"Like...with warmth. Like the person kissing me actually cared..." Jin was surprised to see tears filling her brown eyes.   
  
"Of course I care!" He assured her, carefully sitting on the side of her bed and pulling her into a loose embrace.   
  
She smiled up at him. "I liked it. Do it again, onegai?"  
  
"Happy to oblige," was his reply and this time, Kia didn't pull away.  
  
The door creaked open slightly, and several pairs of eyes peered in.  
  
Mikage was grinning. "Wow, they're really into it..."  
  
Z smirked. "Kinda looks like fun, y'know? I wouldn't mind kissing Hiei..." she trailed off, as both girls looked at her. "Nani?" She said defiantly.   
  
Kelsey shook her head. "You guys are crazy."  
  
"Well, we DID hear you kissed Shishiwakamaru," Mikage told the blonde girl, trying not to laugh at the look on her face.  
  
"It was the only thing that would snap him out of it!" Kelsey hissed. "Nothing more!"  
  
Someone snatched her arms from behind and whirled her around. She had just enough time to recognize Shishiwakamaru before he was kissing her.   
  
Z let out a hoot.  
  
When the samurai released the Mirror Holder, Kelsey's gray eyes were somewhat dazed. "He's not that bad," she decided.  
  
"Love is truly wonderful, isn't it?" Kurama remarked, coming up to them.  
  
Mikage turned red for some reason, and was about to say something, when a pillow smacked into the door.   
  
"You're too loud!" Kia called indignantly.   
  
"So sorry, cookie sheet!" Kelsey retorted. Well, that was it. It was war. Kia was still too weak to get up from bed, but, all the same, she had deadly aim and managed to hit most of her targets. Hiei made the mistake of wandering in, got hit by a pillow intended for Z, and soon joined the fight. Then came Yusuke, Kuwabara, Chuu, Rinku, and Suzuki.  
  
"Ah, a pillow fight!" Everyone glanced at the speaker, and the two Mirror Holders let out a happy cry. "Ashita!"  
  
The Creator smiled, golden eyes twinkling. "Just checking to make sure you were alive. After all, I get a feeling your adventures won't be over yet...nor for a long time."  
  
She got nailed by a pillow. With a whoop, she heaved it back at Suzuki, who had thrown it. With that, the fight continued.  
  
Kia and Kelsey grinned at each other. "¿Feliz ahora?" Kelsey inquired. (Happy now?)  
  
"Usted lo sabe. Prepárese para probar la pluma del ganso, guerrera." (You know it. Prepare to taste goose feather, Warrior.)  
  
"Solamente en sus sueños, curadora." (Only in your dreams, Healer.)  
  
Neither knew that they were both thinking the same thing.  
  
*I guess this is happily ever after...*  
  
And Meikyou and Nasei, both back in their Mirror halves, wholeheartedly agreed.  
  
-Owari-  
  
*OOC*  
  
Well, that's that. It's over. *sniffles* But, IS it? I'm going to try and get the sequel up by next week, at the latest. Thanks to everyone! So...tell me what you think! Here's a little teaser for the sequel, Yarikake (Unfinished)...well, what's coming...  
  
* What? The Mirror halves aren't working? Why?  
  
* Ashita's back! And now the girls have a new mission...involving...going to North America and AFRICA? (among other places...)  
  
* Who is the mysterious figure who keeps warning the Mirror Holders of a distant threat?  
  
Stay tuned! ^^ 


End file.
